Mairehau High School

Mairehau High School
School sign
Address
Hills Road Christchurch New Zealand
Coordinates	43°29′38″S172°38′55″E / 43.4939°S 172.6486°E / -43.4939; 172.6486
Information
Type	State co-educational secondary
Motto	Māori: Mairetia i te matauranga (Be fragrant with wisdom)
Established	1 February 1961;64 years ago (1961-02-01)
Ministry of Education Institution no.	320
Chairperson	Chris Caselton
Principal	Harry Romana
Years offered	9–13
School roll	461 [1] (March 2025)
Color(s)
Socio-economic decile	4K [2]
Website	www.mairehau.school.nz

Mairehau High School is a state co-educational secondary school in Mairehau, Christchurch, New Zealand. The school takes its name from the suburb Mairehau having been adopted in 1916 as a compliment to Mrs Mairehau Hutton whose father, Arthur Gravenor Rhodes, owned considerable property in the area and was a notable benefactor to the district. ^[3]

The school is located at the northeast end of the suburb, near to Shirley, thus forming a coeducation alternative to Shirley Boys' High School, and Avonside Girls' High School. Mairehau High School opened on 1 February 1961, having been constructed on the advice of the Department of Statistics.

Enrolment

As of March 2025, Mairehau High School has roll of 461 students, of which 112 (24.3%) identify as Māori. ^[1]

As of 2025, the school has an Equity Index of 515, ^[4] placing it amongst schools whose students have many socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 2 and 3 under the former socio-economic decile system). ^[5]

Waka groups

Mairehau uses waka groups in place of school houses. ^[6]

The names and colours of the Mairehau waka groups are:

• Waka Ama – Green
• Waka Katea – Blue
• Tau Ihu – Yellow
• Tau Rapa – Red

References

1. "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
2. "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
3. "MAIREHAU – Rose Mairehau Hutton (1894–1991)". Discover The Delights Of Peeling Back History. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
4. "New Zealand Equity Index". New Zealand Ministry of Education.
5. "School Equity Index Bands and Groups". www.educationcounts.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
6. "Mairehau High School – Waka Groups". www.mairehau.school.nz. Retrieved 31 October 2023.

External links

Media related to Mairehau High School at Wikimedia Commons

• http://www.mairehau.school.nz/ – Official School Site
• School history