St. Andrew's College (New Zealand)

St Andrew's College, also known as StAC, in Christchurch, New Zealand, is an independent, co-educational school that includes a Pre-school, Preparatory School (Years 1–8) and a Secondary School (Years 9–13). It also provides boarding for boys and girls in the Secondary School. St Andrew's was founded in 1917 as an all-boys school and became fully co-educational in 2001. It is the only independent, co-educational primary and secondary school in New Zealand's South Island.

The current rector of St Andrew's College is Mark Wilson, who began his tenure at the start of 2025.

History

St Andrew's College was founded by Rev. Alexander Thomas Thompson in 1917 in the Scottish Presbyterian tradition of the Christian faith.

The school began in a humble fashion with 19 boys and four teachers, driven by the determination of the Reverend Thompson, whose driving ambition was to 'educate the sons of the Presbyterian and Scottish community of Canterbury.'

During the 1980s, girls entered St Andrew’s in the Preparatory School, and in 1991, Rector, Dr John Rentoul, and the Board of Governors made the decision to allow girls to enrol in the Secondary School. The College is now fully co-educational in all year levels.

On 31 October 2008, the students and teachers of St Andrew's College set a world record for the largest school mass dance with a recital of the YMCA.

The 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake severely damaged the College's Memorial Chapel and forced the temporary closure of the arts block and Strowan House, which both sustained some structural damage. The boarding houses also sustained damage, leading to boarders being temporarily relocated for two years. Most of the school's other buildings were relatively undamaged, and the arts block and Strowan House have since been repaired and strengthened.

The renovated and strengthened Preparatory School was officially reopened by the then Governor-General, the Right Hon. Sir Jerry Mataparae, in February 2012.

The old MacGibbon and Thompson boarding houses were demolished, and Rutherford House was repaired and renamed MacGibbon. In March 2013, the new boarding houses, Rutherford (Senior Boys' boarding, Years 11–13) and Thompson (Girls' boarding Years 9–13) were formally opened by the Right Honourable John Key, the then Prime Minister of New Zealand.

In late 2014, the Old Rutherford/Erwin house was demolished to make room for a second gym, Gym 2. New hockey and netball courts and an upgrade to the rugby field were completed.

A new Centennial Chapel was built and opened in 2016, incorporating design features from the original Memorial Chapel, which was officially decommissioned in October 2013. The Askin Pipe Band Centre was also rebuilt and reopened in 2016.

In 2018, The Green Library and Innovation Centre was opened in the Secondary School campus.

In 2020, students of the school reported that a teacher tore down posters and verbally abused them for promoting the Black Lives Matter movement. The school conducted an investigation but did not publish the outcome.

The StACFit Fitness Centre build commenced in December 2019 and was completed for the start of the 2021 academic year. It replaced the old fitness centre and is used by sports team, curriculum classes, and special programmes.

In February 2025 it was reported that a student had been suspended after an 'incident' on a year 6 school camp.

Plans

In 2024, Ngā Toi Performing Arts Centre was completed. The building, which replaced the old Theatre, includes the Gough Family Theatre, along with a number of ballet, dance, drama and performing arts studios, a technical AV room, and the Old Collegians Foyer.

Enrolment

As a private school, St Andrew's College charges tuition fees to cover costs. For the 2025 school year, tuition fees for New Zealand residents range are between $20,200 and $24,000 per year for students in Years 1 to 6, $25,500 for students in Years 7 and 8, and $29,300 per year for students in Years 9 to 13. Boarding fees are an additional $20,200 per year.

As of , St Andrews's College has roll of students, of which (%) identify as Māori. As a private school, the school is not assigned an Equity Index.

Rectors

The following is a complete list of the rectors of St Andrew's College:

The current rector of St Andrew's College is Mark Wilson, who began his tenure at the start of 2025. Prior to this, Wilson served as a principal for over 15 years at three other co-educational schools. He has previously served on the national executive of SPANZ (Secondary School Principals Association of New Zealand), and was awarded the Woolf Fisher Fellowship in 2018.

Prior to Mark Wilson, Christine Leighton was the Rector of St Andrew’s College for 17 years, becoming the first female Rector since the College’s founding in 1917, and leading the College’s Centenary celebrations in 2017. During her early career, Leighton taught in a variety of New Zealand schools as a teacher of English. Her leadership roles included serving as Assistant Head of English at Nayland College, Head of English at Tauranga Boys’ College, Assistant Principal at Nelson College for Girls, and Principal of St Hilda’s Collegiate School in Dunedin for nine years. She was accepted into a Harvard University Business Programme in 2014, completing ISL, a Strategic Leadership Programme, in 2001. Leighton joined the Association of the Heads of Independent Schools in 2014, later becoming a Board member and being elected Deputy Chair in 2020. She retired at the end of 2024.

Notable alumni

* Albert Anderson (born 1961), rugby union player
* Mark Abbott (born 1991), rugby union player
*Andrew Bird (born 1967), Olympic coxswain
*Ben Blair (born 1979), rugby union player
*John Britten (1950–1995), inventor
* Scott Cartwright (born 1954), rugby union player
*Mark Chignell (born 1956), human factors researcher
*Rod Donald (1957–2005), Member of Parliament
*Joe Earl (born 1952), Olympic rower
* Mick Ensor (1922–1994), Second World War pilot
* Peter Gordon (1921–1991), Member of Parliament and cabinet minister
*Eliza Grigg (born 1996), alpine ski racer
*Chris Harris (born 1969), cricketer
*Hamish Hay (1927–2008), former mayor of Christchurch
* Doug Kennedy (1915–1972), director-general of health
*Phil Keoghan (born 1967), television presenter and host
*Roy Kerr (born 1934), mathematician
* Chris King (born 1981), rugby union player
*Richie Mo'unga (born 1994), rugby union player
* Carl Nixon (born 1967), novelist, short story writer and playwright
*Gordon Ogilvie (1934–2017), historian
*Tim Perry (rugby union) (born 1988), rugby union player
* Jack Rumbold (1920–2001), cricketer and colonial legal administrator
*Sir Ieremia Tabai (born 1950), first president of Kiribati (1979–1991), politician
* Koloti Veainu (born 1990), rugby union player
*Philip Woollaston (born 1944), politician; vintner
* Hugh Wilson (born 1945), botanist
* Richard Wilson (born 1953), rugby union player
* Rodney Wilson (1945–2013), art historian and museum director
*Alex Wyllie (born 1944), rugby union player

References

External links

St Andrew's official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Andrew's College
Presbyterian schools in New Zealand
Boarding schools in New Zealand
Educational institutions established in 1917
Secondary schools in Christchurch
1917 establishments in New Zealand