Christchurch secondary school announcement

Education Minister Hekia Parata announced today that, following an extensive consultation process, all Christchurch secondary schools will remain open because the schools are well located and provide good access for students.

However, two schools that had significant land damage, Avonside Girls High School and Shirley Boys High School, will be relocated to a new shared site in eastern Christchurch. Education officials are working to identify a site.

“During the extensive consultation process, all the Christchurch secondary principals worked together to develop a vision for secondary education in greater Christchurch. This process included feedback from 120 students who participated in a two day forum in March,” says Ms Parata.

“This Government welcomes this collaborative approach to the secondary school network in Christchurch which has seen extensive change due to the earthquakes.’’

The Government is investing around $400 million in Christchurch secondary schools to support this vision.

“In making these decisions, I am mindful families in greater Christchurch have already been through a lot and I expect that today’s announcement will provide some certainty for parents and their children.

“I want to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank the principals, chairs and their communities at these secondary schools for their involvement in this process. They have put enormous work in to their feedback throughout the past 12 months of consultation.

The Government remains committed to the rebuild of Christchurch and is investing $1 billion into renewing the education network in greater Christchurch over the next 10 years.

“We have a chance to build brighter, more modern schools in better locations, with great new facilities, and to ensure all children are getting access to good, quality education.”