Otago Girls' High School (OGHS) is a secondary school in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

, New Zealand. It was opened 6 February 1871, after a long campaign by Learmonth Whyte Dalrymple. It is one of the oldest girls state-run secondary school in the Southern Hemisphere and the sixth oldest of its type in the world. The school has its own radio show on

Otago Access Radio The Community Access Media Alliance (CAMA) (formerly the Association of Community Access Broadcasters (ACAB)), also known as the Access Radio Network, is a group of twelve New Zealand community radio media organisations. The stations were establ ...

History

At its foundation the school occupied a neo-classical building on its present site which it shared with

Otago Boys' High School Otago Boys' High School (OBHS) is a secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is one of New Zealand's oldest boys' secondary schools. Originally known as Dunedin High School, it was founded on 3 August 1863 and moved to its present site in 18 ...

. A new building on another site was built for the boys which they marched away to occupy in 1885. In 1910 the present main block was opened, designed by

Edmund Anscombe Edmund Anscombe (8 February 1874 – 9 October 1948) was one of the most important figures to shape the architectural and urban fabric of New Zealand. He was important, not only because of the prolific nature of his practice and the quality of ...

(1874–1948) and the old building on Tennyson Street was demolished. Anscombe's conception of a rouge-brick Elizabethan mansion, dreaming in the sun, was slowly extended. Temporary structures were replaced in the 1970s by

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

blocks, contextualised by the use of brick to the Anscombe building. In the 1980s the main block was scheduled for demolition. After protest it was restored and extended by a sympathetic addition designed by

Ted McCoy Edward John McCoy (23 February 1925 – 17 January 2018), generally known as Ted McCoy, was a New Zealand architect whose practice was based in Dunedin. He designed the sanctuary of St. Paul's Cathedral, Dunedin, St Paul's Cathedral (completed ...

, and in 1987 was listed as a Category I Historic Place. The school has since acquired part of the old King Edward Technical School site. It has erected structures there accessible by way of a pedestrian underpass beneath Smith Street. The school gained international attention in February 2022 after a Muslim student was beaten for wearing a

hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

by her peers, and resulted in the student being hospitalised with a concussion. The incident led to an international and domestic outcry, with support for the student coming from

Bella Hadid Isabella Khair Hadid ( ; born October 9, 1996) is an American model. Hadid has made 35 appearances on international ''Vogue'' covers. In 2022, she was named Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council. ''Time'' magazine named her one ...

Sonny Bill Williams Sonny William Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in rugby union after first playing for the cou ...

, among others. Two of the students responsible for the attack were subsequently expelled while a third was referred to counselling. Principal Bridget Davidson confirmed that the school was working with the victims, Muslim community and Police to address the bullying and assault. Otago Muslim Association chairman Mohammad Rizwan welcomed the outcome.

Enrolment

As of , Otago Girls' High School has roll of students, of which (%) identify as Māori. As of , Otago Girls' High School has an

Equity Index In finance, a stock index, or stock market index, is an index that measures the performance of a stock market, or of a subset of a stock market. It helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calculate market perform ...

of , placing it amongst schools whose students have socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to decile 7 under the former

socio-economic decile In the education in New Zealand, New Zealand education system, decile was a key measure of socioeconomic status used to target funding and support schools. In academic contexts the full term "socioeconomic decile" or "socioeconomic decile band" wa ...

system).

Notable alumnae

Mina Arndt Hermina "Mina" Arndt (18 April 1885 – 22 December 1926) was a New Zealand artist. Biography Arndt was born at Thurlby Domain, near Queenstown on 18 April 1885, the third daughter of Jewish parents Maria and Herman Arndt. Her father died sho ...

– artist * Ethel Benjamin – New Zealand's first female lawyer *

Kelly Brazier Kelly Brazier (born 28 October 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union and Rugby sevens, sevens player. She has played flyhalf, centre (rugby union), centre and fullback (rugby union), fullback for the New Zealand women's national rugby union team, ...

– rugby union player *

Kushana Bush Kushana Bush (born 1983) is a New Zealand artist based in Dunedin. She was born in Dunedin and is best known for her paintings which typically blend historic and contemporary styles. Bush has won several awards for her works and has held inter ...

– artist *

Silvia Cartwright Dame Silvia Rose Cartwright (née Poulter; born 7 November 1943) is a New Zealand jurist who served as the 18th governor-general of New Zealand, from 2001 to 2006. She was the second woman to hold the office, after Dame Catherine Tizard. Earl ...

– former Governor General of New Zealand * Ann Chapman – first woman to lead an Antarctic expedition *

Mai Chen Mai Chen is a New Zealand and Harvard educated lawyer with a professional and specialist focus in constitutional and administrative law, Waitangi tribunal and courts, human rights, white collar fraud and regulatory defence, judicial review, reg ...

– constitutional lawyer * Constance Clyde – writer *

Margaret Cruickshank Margaret Barnett Cruickshank (1 January 1873 – 28 November 1918) was a New Zealand medical practitioner who died during the 1918 influenza pandemic. She was the first registered female doctor in New Zealand. Posthumously, she was the first wo ...

– New Zealand's first female medical doctor * Elizabeth Gunn – paediatrician *

Alison Holst Dame Alison Margaret Holst (née Payne, born 1938) is a best-selling New Zealand food writer and television celebrity chef. Biography Alison was born in Dunedin, and graduated from the University of Otago, then a constituent college of the Uni ...

– cook *

Grace Joel Grace Jane Joel (28 May 1865–6 March 1924) was a New Zealand artist best known for her ability as a portraitist and figure painter. Early life Grace Joel was born in Dunedin, New Zealand on 28 May 1865, the sixth of nine children. Her Englis ...

– painter * Millie Lovelock – student journalist, singer-songwriter-guitarist *

Juliet Marillier Juliet Marillier (born 7 August 1948) is a New Zealand-born writer of fantasy, focusing predominantly on historical fantasy. Biography Juliet Marillier was educated at the University of Otago, where she graduated with a BA in languages and a ...

– author * Shona McFarlane – artist, journalist and broadcaster *

Mandy Mayhem Amanda Morrison (born 1972) better known as Mandy Mayhem and at times Mandy Mayhem-Bullock,Mayhem announced in 2022 that she was "dropping the Bullock." is a local politician, celebrant, performer, circus ringmaster, newspaper deliverer, and a ...

, performer, artist and local politician *

Judith Medlicott Judith Olwyn Medlicott (née Sloan; 6 March 1942 – 4 May 2024) was a New Zealand lawyer and advocate. She served as chancellor of the University of Otago from 1993 to 1998, and was the New Zealand ''Mastermind'' champion in 1988. Early life ...

– family lawyer and former

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

Chancellor * Emily Hancock Siedeberg – New Zealand's first female medical graduate * Patricia Payne (mezzo-soprano) – opera singer * Raylene Ramsay – French culture researcher * Olga Stringfellow – writer * Nancy Tichborne – watercolour artist *

Yvette Williams Dame Yvette Winifred Corlett (née Williams; 25 April 1929 – 13 April 2019) was a New Zealand track-and-field athlete who was the first woman from her country to win an Olympic gold medal and to hold the world record in the women's long jum ...

– first New Zealand woman to win an Olympic gold medal

Notable faculty

* Katherine Browning * Jessie Buckland *

Janet Hesketh Janet May Hesketh (nee Janet May Mackenzie, 23 Dec 1934 – 29 Aug 2018) was a New Zealand women's leader. In 1988 she was awarded the Queen's Service Medal, and in 1996 she was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for servi ...

* Bridie Lonie *

Clare Mallory Clare Mallory is the pen name under which Winifred Constance McQuilkan Hall (25 September 1913 – 20 April 1991) wrote ten children's books published between 1947 and 1951. Clare Mallory is primarily remembered as a superior exponent of the gir ...

* Maria Marchant

References

External links

Official Website

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on Learmonth White Dalrymple
{{Authority control Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in Otago Girls' schools in New Zealand Educational institutions established in 1871 Secondary schools in Dunedin Edmund Anscombe buildings 1871 establishments in New Zealand Association of Community Access Broadcasters 1910s architecture in New Zealand Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia Central Dunedin