| Burnside High School | |
| Native Name: | (Te Kura o Waimairi-iri) |
| Motto: | Latin: Recte Sic Dirige Cursum |
| Motto Translation: | Along this path direct your journey correctly |
| Type: | State, non-integrated |
| Grades: | 9–13 |
| Grades Label: | Years |
| Gender: | Coeducational |
| Established: | 1960 |
| Address: | Greers Road, Burnside |
| Postcode: | 8053 |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Principal: | Scott Haines |
| Roll: | |
| Decile: | 8P[1] |
| Moe: | 319 |
| Homepage: | burnside.school.nz |
Burnside High School (Maori: Te Kura o Waimairi-iri) is a state co-educational secondary school located in the suburb of Burnside in Christchurch, New Zealand. With a roll of students, it is the largest school in New Zealand outside Auckland,[2] and is among the country's four largest schools.
The Burnside property, an area of, belonged to Canterbury University College (later the University of Canterbury) as an endowment. When the college considered moving away from its central city site, the Burnside property was considered, but the college purchased what is now known as the Ilam campus in the late 1940s instead. A reduced land area was used by the Ministry of Education for Burnside High School.
In April 1958, the Christchurch Post-primary Schools’ Council unanimously recommended Burnside High School be constructed and by a 7–2 margin recommended it as a single-sex girls' school.[3] The lack of consultation, opposition from the community, and incorrect interpretation about demand for girls' secondary school places saw the council resind its decision to make Burnside a single-sex girls' school. On 24 June 1958, the council voted by a 6–4 margin to recommend Burnside be a coeducational school.[4]
Cabinet approved construction of the school in August 1958.[5] Tenders for the first stage of construction were called, closing on 30 January 1959. Approval of a construction tender was delayed until late March 1959,[6] losing three months of dry weather for construction and risking the completion in time for the 1960 school year. The tender for the first stage was let to John Calder Limited for £160,000, and construction began in mid-April 1959.[7]
Burnside High School officially opened to students on 2 February 1960, with an initial intake of 230 third-form (now Year 9) students.[8]
A swimming pool was added in 1961, which became fully functional in 1964 after the addition of filtration equipment. The gymnasium was soon constructed afterwards. In 2004 and 2005 construction of a new block, library and administration area began. These were opened in 2006 by Helen Clark, then Prime Minister of New Zealand. The school's fiftieth jubilee was held in 2010, attended by John Key, an ex-pupil and Prime Minister of New Zealand. Following damage caused by the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Avonside Girls' High School shared the facilities of Burnside High School. Avonside Girls' High School relocated back to their home site in 2012.[9] Burnside High School, due to being relatively undamaged and with power and water restored shortly after the quake, was used as a welfare centre by Civil Defence.[10]
On 28 March 2012 the school was put into lockdown after students reported seeing a man walking the grounds carrying a silver pistol, which was later found by police to be plastic.[11]
Burnside, like many secondary schools in Christchurch, operates an enrolment scheme to help curb roll numbers and prevent overcrowding. The school's zone includes the suburbs of Burnside and Bryndwr, and parts of Bishopdale, Fendalton, Ilam and Avonhead.[12]
At the August 2013 Education Review Office (ERO) review of the school, the school had 2416 students enrolled, including 135 international students. Forty-seven percent of students were male and 53 percent were female. Sixty-three percent of students identified as European (including 56 percent as New Zealand European or Pākehā), 22 percent as Asian, eight percent as Māori, two percent as Pasifika, and five percent as another ethnicity.[13]
The school is split into four divisions – North, South, West and Senior – the first three consisting of students from Years 9–12 and Senior division consisting of only Year 13 students. Each division has a guidance counsellor, three deans and a divisional principal. In addition, Senior Division includes a careers advisor. The school has a Principal, Second Principal, Assistant Principal, 3 Divisional Principals, 12 deans and 13 Heads of Department.
Allan Hunter was principal from 1969 to 1980, when he retired.[14] The current acting principal is Andrea Griffin, who took over the role after Phil Holstein's resignation.[15] [16]
Like most New Zealand state secondary schools built in the 1960s, the school is largely built to the Nelson Two-Storey plan. The Nelson Two-Storey is distinguished by its two-storey H-shaped classroom blocks, with stairwells at each end of the block and a large ground floor toilet and cloak area on one side.[17] Burnside has four of these blocks: A, B, D, and E blocks (and the demolished F block). F block was demolished due to asbestos used in its design, while I and J blocks will most likely be demolished in the near future.[18]
As a state school, Burnside High School follows the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC). In Years 11 to 13, students complete the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), the main secondary school qualification in New Zealand. Cambridge Mathematics (IGCSE, AS, and A Levels) has been offered for Year 11 to 13 students since 2011, and Cambridge Music has been offered for Year 11 to 13 students since 2022.[19]
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