The high school parents once drove across town to avoid, is now bursting at the seams

Tuesday, 27 June 2023

As part of a new series – Class Struggles – The Press is investigating the state of education, both locally and across the country. Tatiana Gibbs reports on Te Aratai College, a school that has undergone dramatic change over the last decade.

Speak to people about Te Aratai College and one theme emerges – the school’s been transformed.

In a city where what school you go to matters, Te Aratai College was a long way down the list of preferred choices for many Christchurch parents.

The double blow of thousands of nearby homes being demolished due to the earthquakes and people avoiding the school due to its bad reputation, saw the roll fall 40% from pre-quake 2010 to 2017, from 1046 to 631 students.

To make matters worse, the entire school board was sacked and a government intervention was needed to resolve employment issues.

Today, the situation could not be more different. The school has moved to its new campus and undergone a name change – it was formerly known as Linwood College – and it now has more students than it has classrooms to teach them in.

For principal Richard Edmundson, it’s a nice problem to have.

“No-one in their wildest thinking believed that [growth] would be happening as fast as it has,” he said.

Parents once drove their children across the city to avoid the school, but the likes of city councillor Sara Templeton and Christchurch Foundation chief executive Amy Carter both claimed the diversity and environment at the school centred its success.

Templeton sent her three children to the school and admits the decision prompted a few people to “raise their eyebrows” when her first started there six years ago. Her two youngest are currently enrolled.

“My kids are getting a great education, they've got great friends … and they’re getting the opportunities as they would at another school,” she said.

“Every parent has to choose the right school for their child, but I wouldn't want parents discounting Te Aratai because of things they've heard about it a decade ago.”

Carter said her eldest daughter was “flourishing” in her first year at Te Aratai College, which she chose herself.

“She identified a few things she wanted a high school to offer, and very important to her and to us was the diversity,” Carter said.

“There were definitely some rough years in the middle where the leadership wasn't quite the right fit… It’s clearly evident that no matter who you are, you're welcome and safe [at Te Aratai] and that is incredible to have achieved.”

The school’s 2010 roll of 1046 has been fully restored with 1050 students this year. That’s despite the new school building – that opened in May last year – being designed for 850 students.

Stage two of additional buildings to cater for 1200 students has been brought forward, and is expected to be completed during 2025.

Year 9 student Maddy Marsden, 13, said the school was “crowded”. Classmate Tamyra Cribb, 14, said it was “hard to get around the school”, and she often bumped into other students.

One person who has been integral to the school’s transformation has been Edmundson. He taught at the school for more than a decade from 1990 before returning as principal in 2016, and will resign from his position at the end of the school year.

“I am leaving because after eight years as Te Aratai College principal, which include many happy, and some sad and difficult times, it is time for a new person to step into the role,” Edmundson said announcing his resignation on Friday.

”It is a superb job to have, working with both wonderful students and wonderful staff.”

Edmundson, who had “rockstar” status Carter said, was motivated to make it the school of choice for the community. A key ingredient to turning a school around had been time, he said.

He spearheaded a community-led, six-month “intense consultation”, involving surveys and face-to-face meetings at malls and farmers markets.

They spoke to more than 1000 people about what they wanted from their local school.

“After the earthquake, the community was really hurting, and the school was hurting too. Healing was required, and all healing takes time,” he said.

Te Aratai is one of Christchurch’s most multicultural schools. Samoan and Japanese languages are being taught for the first time this year.

The school’s diversity is one of its strengths and is exactly what the likes of Templeton and Carter see value in.

“The research is clear that having a really good mix of kids from all different backgrounds is actually really good for all of the kids involved,” Templeton said.

Carter went to Linwood College herself and recalled the “melting pot” moment when she “first met Pasifika kids and Asian kids”.

“I went from this bubble, to a school where other people's lives were quite different, and it had a huge impact on me and who I am,” she said.

“Social skills are more important than anything else and are increasingly going to be so. So the ability to get on with everyone, no matter what walk of life they're from and to have that social awareness, I think is one of the best things we can give our children in terms of a start in life.”

Edmondson said in proportion with an increasing roll, more staff had been employed, and more subjects could be taught as a result.

And while the college had turned around in the public’s eye under his new role, for Edmundson, “essentially, it's still the same”.

“We’ve got these wonderful young people with hopes and aspirations… We are all delighted to be in a positive partnership with our community.”

The new school principal will start at the beginning of 2024.

The process will happen in the remaining two school terms with community consultation, Ngāi Tūāhuriri, and Terri Johnstone from Catalyst for Change offering expertise in principal appointments – who was consulted when Edmundson was appointed.