Burnside High School
Encyclopedia
Burnside High School is the second largest high school in New Zealand with over 2600 students, and is located in the suburb of Burnside
Burnside, Canterbury
Burnside is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located southeast of Christchurch International Airport. As with most suburbs in Christchurch, it has no defined boundaries and is a general area.-History:...
in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
History
Burnside High School started construction in 1959. 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 saw the beginning of the construction of a new block, library and administration area. These were opened in 2006 by Helen ClarkHelen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. The school's fiftieth jubilee was held in 2010, attended by John Key
John Key
John Phillip Key is the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, in office since 2008. He has led the New Zealand National Party since 2006....
, an ex-pupil and Prime Minister of New Zealand. Following damage caused by the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Avonside Girls' High School are sharing the facilities of Burnside High School. Avonside Girls' High School will relocate back to their home site in 2012. 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.
Students
In 2008 the school had 2595 students: 69% European/Pakeha; 23% Asian descent; 4% Maori; 2% Pacific; 2% Other. Burnside High School is decile eight.Students undertake the NCEA
National Certificate of Educational Achievement
The National Certificate of Educational Achievement is, since 2004, the official secondary school qualification in New Zealand.It has three levels, corresponding to the levels within the National Qualifications Framework, and these are generally studied in each of the three final years of...
assessment system for Years 11 through 13, which uses Not Achieved (NA), Achieved (A), Merit (M) and Excellence (E) grades.
Structure
The school is split into four divisions - North, South, West and Senior, the first three consisting of students from Years 9-12 (Equivalent Grade 8 - 11) and Senior division consisting of only Year 13 (Grade 12) students. Each division has a guidance counsellor, three deans and a divisional principal and, in addition, Senior Division includes a careers advisor. The school has a Principal, Second Principal, Assistant Principal and 13 Heads of Department.Motto, crest and colours
The school motto is Recte Sic Dirige Cursum, which means Thus direct thy path aright, or In this way direct your course correctly.The school's crest is a cabbage tree, due to the historic importance of a group of cabbage palms situated on the school grounds. These trees were used as an important landmark by Maori travellers before European settlement of Canterbury.
The school uniform colours are green and white.
Grounds and facilities
The school consists of 14 blocks containing classrooms, labeled from A to N, and X, a library and administration building (also containing a sick bay and student office), two gyms, a pool, a canteen, an auditorium that seats 750 people, and numerous sports fields and courts situated on the grounds, which are a total of 16.2 hectares (40 acres) in size.- X Block is largely dedicated to computing, holding the central virtualization server, and routers for the school,
- M Block is the Music and Drama department),
- N Block is for Art, including a Dark Room,
- K Block is largely for Languages,
- D Block is for Mathematics (including most of D Block extension),
- L Block for learning support,
- C Block for Craft, Wood/Metalwork and Cooking,
- I Block for Sciences, downstairs I Block for English,
- F Block for Senior students (Y13)
The school has a school-broadcast system designed as an Armed Intruder Lockdown Scheme in the event of a Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
style school shooting, which informs teachers and students of an armed intruder, and safety measures to be taken to ensure classrooms and buildings are locked down for safety.
Notable alumni
- Andrew Ellis - All BlackAll BlacksThe New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
- Rob FyfeRob FyfeRobert Ian "Rob" Fyfe is a New Zealand businessman and the current Chief Executive Officer of New Zealand national airline Air New Zealand....
- Chief Executive Officer of Air New ZealandAir New ZealandAir New Zealand Limited is the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 26 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations in 15 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and is... - John KeyJohn KeyJohn Phillip Key is the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, in office since 2008. He has led the New Zealand National Party since 2006....
- Prime MinisterPrime ministerA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of New Zealand - Eleanor CattonEleanor CattonEleanor Catton is a New Zealand author best known for her 2007 debut novel, The Rehearsal. The book deals with reactions to an affair between a male teacher and Victoria, a girl at his secondary school, as well as the more muted response to the death of another pupil...
- Acclaimed Author - Henry SuluvaleHenry SuluvaleHenry Suluvale is a former rugby league player who represented Western Samoan at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup. Suluvale played on the Wing or in the Centres.-Early years:Suluvale grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand and attended Burnside High School....
- Western Samoan rugby league player - Hayley WestenraHayley WestenraHayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...
- operatic popOperatic popOperatic pop, pop opera or popera is a subgenre of pop music that is performed in an operatic style, or a song, theme or motif from classical music stylized as pop. The term popera and adjectives poperatic and popical are used by some media editors and music reviewers...
singer - Gemma Knight - Television Host of What NowWhat NowWhat Now is a long running New Zealand children's television program that premiered in 1981. It is filmed before a live studio audience at Whitebait Productions in Christchurch....