Rangi Ruru Girls' School | |
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Address | |
59 Hewitts Road, Merivale, Christchurch, | |
Coordinates | 43°31′09″S172°37′03″E / 43.5192°S 172.6175°E |
Information | |
Type | Independent Single sex girls Intermediate and Secondary (Year 7–13) school with boarding facilities (Boarding from Year 7) |
Motto | Māori: Whaia to te rangi (Seek the heavenly things) |
Established | 1889 |
Ministry of Education Institution no. | 325 |
Chairperson | Nicki Carter |
Principal | Tracy Herft |
School roll | 703 [1] (August 2024) |
Socio-economic decile | 10 |
Website | RangiRuru.school.nz (requires plugin) |
Rangi Ruru Girls' School is a New Zealand private girls' day and boarding secondary school located in Merivale, an inner suburb of Christchurch. The school is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and serves approximately 703 girls from Years 7 to 13 (ages 10 to 18).
The school was founded in 1889 when Frederick Gibson bought a school run in Papanui by friends of his, Ada, Kate and Jessie Gresham, who were moving to Australia. [2] The school had 18 students, aged 5 to 16 years old. [3] Initially Gibson's daughters Alice and Helen and their mother Mary ran the school, calling it "Miss Gibson's Private School for Girls". In 1891, the school moved to a building in Webb Street and was renamed Rangi Ruru, meaning "wide sky-shelter". This name had been suggested by a Māori chief of Rapaki Pa, Pāora Taki, a friend of Frederick Gibson. [4] Helen Gibson continued as Principal and her sisters Alice, Ethel, Ruth and Winifred joined as teachers. Under Helen Gibson's leadership the school roll grew, reaching over 200 students at the time of her death in 1938. [4] From 1938 until the sale of the school in 1946, Ethel Gibson was principal; her sisters continued to assist and support her. [3]
The school moved to its present site in 1923, as the Webb Street building was becoming too small. Te Koraha, the original house on the site, had been the home of the Rhodes family; [2] it was made available to the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York for their June 1901 royal visit to Christchurch. [5] [6]
The Rangi Ruru Board of Governors was established in 1946 when Presbyterian Church members purchased the school from the Gibson family. While the Christchurch Presbytery approves appointments, the board is autonomous.[ citation needed ]
In the early 1980s, the school wanted an on-site chapel, while simultaneously the congregation of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church at Hospital Corner was declining. It was decided to relocate the church to the school site, and in 1986, the building was moved to land adjacent to the school on Merivale Lane. [7] The church became known as "St Andrew's at Rangi Ruru".
Rangi Ruru is consistently one of New Zealand's highest-achieving schools in academic achievement. [8]
In 2013, all girls who left Rangi Ruru held at least NCEA Level 1, while 98.2% held at least NCEA Level 2, and 92.0% held at least University Entrance. This was in contrast to the national percentages of 86.8%, 77.2%, and 55.4%, respectively, for girls. [9]
St Margaret's College is an independent girls' school in Christchurch, New Zealand founded on Anglican Christian values. It offers the dual academic pathway of NCEA and International Baccalaureate.
Christchurch Girls' High School in Christchurch, New Zealand, was established in 1877 and is the second oldest girls-only secondary school in the country, after Otago Girls' High School.
Merivale is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, north of the city centre. Like all suburbs in Christchurch, it has no defined boundaries and is a general area, but for the purposes of statistical analysis only, Statistics New Zealand defines it as being Heaton Street to the north, Papanui Road to the east, Harper and Bealey Avenues to the south and Rossall Street to the west, although Real Estate advertising often will claim residences outside this area, especially St Albans to the east of Papanui Road, as being Merivale due to the perceived desirability of the area. The area directly west of Rossall Street, which is called Holmwood by Statistics New Zealand, is sometimes considered part of Merivale.
Arthur Edgar Gravenor Rhodes was a New Zealand member of parliament and mayor of Christchurch.
John Anderson was the second Mayor of Christchurch in New Zealand 1868–1869, and a successful businessman. He had a close connection with three buildings that have later received Category I heritage registrations by Heritage New Zealand. Two of these buildings were demolished following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
Andrew Duncan was Mayor of Christchurch 1869–1870. From a working-class background in Scotland, he emigrated to New Zealand as a young man and became a highly respected member of the Christchurch community. He is remembered for his later work as an immigration agent in Scotland on behalf of the Canterbury Province.
Daniel Reese was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from Christchurch, New Zealand.
Armson, Collins and Harman was an architectural firm in New Zealand. It was founded by William Barnett Armson (1832/3–1883), and after his death, became the practice of two architects who articled with him, John James Collins (1855–1933) and Richard Dacre Harman (1859–1927).
St Paul's Church was a heritage-listed former Presbyterian church in Cashel Street, Christchurch. Built in 1877, the church was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I heritage building. Following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the building was removed from the heritage list and demolished.
Symonds Street is a street in Auckland, New Zealand's most populous city. The road runs southwest and uphill from the top of Anzac Avenue, through the City Campus of University of Auckland, over the Northwestern Motorway and Auckland Southern Motorway and to the start of New North Road and Mount Eden Road.
Cecil Walter Wood was a New Zealand architect. He was the dominant architect in Canterbury during the interwar period.
Sir Kenneth Macfarlane Gresson was a New Zealand soldier, lawyer, university lecturer and judge. He was born on 18 July 1891 and attended Rangi Ruru. His father, John Beatty Gresson, was a solicitor in Christchurch, who died in a railway accident a few months before Kenneth Macfarlane Gresson was born. His grandfather, Henry Barnes Gresson, was one of New Zealand's first Supreme Court judges. He was buried in a family grave at St Paul's Anglican Church, Papanui.
Samuel Charles Farr was a 19th-century builder and architect in Christchurch, New Zealand. He intended to emigrate from England to Auckland, but significant shipping problems saw him end up in Akaroa in 1850 instead. From 1862, he lived in Christchurch. Farr has a number of firsts against his name: the first marriage in Canterbury, he designed Akaroa's first church, designed New Zealand's first iron verandahs, and he started Sunday schools in Canterbury. As a leading member of the Acclimatisation Society, he stocked almost every lake and river in Canterbury with fish and was instrumental in introducing the bumblebee to New Zealand. His most notable building was Cranmer Court, the former Normal School, in the Christchurch Central City; this building was demolished following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
Eve Macfarlane is a New Zealand rower. Described as a "natural rower", she went to the 2009 World Rowing Junior Championships within a few months of having taken up rowing and won a silver medal. She represented New Zealand at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as the country's youngest Olympian at those games. She was the 2015 world champion in the women's double sculls with Zoe Stevenson. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, they came fourth in the semi-finals and thus missed the A final.
Mary Victoria Gibson was a New Zealand teacher and school principal.
Helena Fannie Gibson was a New Zealand educator and the principal of Rangi Ruru Girls' School in Christchurch for its first 50 years.
Robert William England was a New Zealand architect from Christchurch.
St Andrew's Church is a heritage-listed church building located at Rangi Ruru in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was the first Presbyterian church to be built in Christchurch. It is registered as a "Historic Place – Category I " by Heritage New Zealand. The building was designed in the Gothic Revival style and was first opened for worship on 1 February 1857.
Helen Calder is a New Zealand artist. Her work is part of the permanent collection of Te Papa, the Auckland Art Gallery and the Christchurch Art Gallery.