Kia Ora, I am Catherine Law, and I am proud to be the Principal of Avonside Girls’ High School, Te Kura Kōhine o Ōtākaro. Having attended an independent Girls’ school myself and worked in top girls’ schools in London and Hawkes’ Bay, I am passionate about the power of single-sex education to empower young women. More than ever, our young women today need an educational space that allows them to flourish as critical, courageous, and compassionate thinkers with a strong sense of leadership, identity and purpose going out into the world. At the heart of this we want our young people and their families to belong, and our strong values continue to be key.
For information on routes and times of all of our school buses, please click the link:
The library is for all students to enjoy, using the extensive collection and the wonderful space.The meaning of Mᾱpuna is precious, valuable, prized.Our library is open Monday – Friday between 8am-4pm in term time only. Contact our Library staff on 03 3897199 ext 701 or email:
Wendy Wright, our Library Manager
Imogen Loakman, our Assistant Librarian
Louise Reichwein, our Assistant Librarian
Janice Carragher, our Assistant Librarian
We have a Cafe on site catered by Ris’tretto Espresso with a lot of different food and drinks on offer.
The Cafe will be open from 8:30am Monday – Friday.
Their website: https://www.ristretto.co.nz/
In 2019 Avonside Girls’ High School moved to their modern new campus on Travis Road. As a school moving onto this site we acknowledge Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri the mana whenua of the area.
Ko Maungatere te Maunga
Our mountain, Maungatere (Mount Grey) stands above us;
Ko Waimakariri, ko Rakahuri ngā Awa
Our rivers – the Waimakariri and Rakahuri (the Ashley) – flow below;
Ko Tūāhuriri te Tangata
Tūāhuriri is our ancestor
The move to Ōrua Paeroa provided an exciting opportunity for partnership with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu to influence design and provide cultural input that thread the history and storying of the mana whenua into the fabric of the school. We asked ‘What is this place and what happened in this place’ with regard to the journeying and settlement of mana whenua. The design of our Whare entrance, reception area, front of school, internal quads and cultural art etched into the glass walls all tautoko the narrative of the whenua on which the school stands. On the campus, Avonside Girls’ High School and Shirley Boys’ High School operate side by side, along with a satellite class from Ferndale School, all working independently within their own school space but also having the opportunity to use key facilities that are shared.
Our school has flexible teaching spaces and specialist facilities which are organised according to learning areas to enable innovative teaching and learning, and all learning areas have state of the art digital technology for learning. Learning spaces are organised around a large attractive interior courtyard, or open to the external courtyards so student learning can flow outdoors.
State of the art theatres, gymnasiums, hockey turf and fields mean that our shared performance and sporting facilities provide a wonderful environment for both curriculum and extra-curricular activities. A large library, kitchen and café are also shared spaces and allow for some collaboration.
Have a look at our Virtual Tour to see around our school and click on our Google map to see the spaces.
