Rangi Ruru Girls' School

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).

Rangi Ruru Girls' School
Te Koraha, the administration building of Rangi Ruru
Address
59 Hewitts Road,
Merivale, Christchurch,
Coordinates43.5192°S 172.6175°E / -43.5192; 172.6175
Information
TypeIndependent Single sex girls Intermediate and Secondary (Year 7–13) school with boarding facilities (Boarding from Year 7)
MottoMāori: Whaia to te rangi
(Seek the heavenly things)
Established1889
Ministry of Education Institution no.325
ChairpersonNicki Carter
PrincipalDr Sandra Hastie
School roll703[1] (April 2023)
Socio-economic decile10
WebsiteRangiRuru.school.nz (requires plugin)

History
St Andrew's Church at Rangi Ruru

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. The school prospered under Helen Gibson's leadership and grew to over 200 students at 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.

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".

Academic achievement

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]

Controversies
  • A teacher's registration was cancelled after they groomed a 16-year-old student at Rangi Ruru Girls School. Taurapa (formerly known as Connor Taurapa Matthews) was employed as a Te Reo Māori teacher at Rangi Ruru Girls School from 2018 until April 2019. Taurapa's resignation from Rangi Ruru came in April 2019 during an ongoing investigation into his conduct. Taurapa had an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old student. Nude photographs were exchanged between her and Taurapa. some of these images were taken when she was only 15, and Taurapa was aware of this as she had explicitly informed him. Taurapa reciprocated by sending explicit videos and photos. Taurapa’s registration as a teacher was later cancelled. [10][11]

Notable alumnae

References
  1. "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  2. "St Andrew's Presbyterian Church – St Andrew's Church History". standrewsrangiruru.org.nz. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  3. "Alabaster Chronicle No 18, Spring 2002". www.alabaster.org.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  4. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Gibson, Helena Fannie and Gibson, Mary Victoria". www.teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  5. "The Christchurch Residence". The Press. Vol. LVIII, no. 10950. 27 April 1901. p. 8. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  6. "Te Koraha". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  7. "St Andrew's Church (Presbyterian)". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  8. "High Pass Marks in City Schools". The Press. The Press. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  9. "School Qualifications – Rangi Ruru Girls' School". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  10. Lynch, Chris. "Former teacher at a prestigious Christchurch school groomed 16-year-old, performed sex acts". Chris Lynch Newsroom. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  11. Sherwood, Sam (6 August 2023). "Teacher groomed 16yo school girl, shared nude photos, did sex acts". NZ Herald. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  12. "Tribute to Dr Elizabeth Edgar, leading plant taxonomist and flora-writer" (PDF). New Zealand Botanical Society Newsletter. Christchurch, New Zealand: New Zealand Botanical Society (60): 29–30. June 2000. ISSN 2230-3502. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  13. Egan, Brendon (3 July 2013). "Consistency key as Fenwick seeks improvement". The Press. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  14. Finn, Jeremy. "Kenneth Macfarlane Gresson". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  15. Tutty, Kevin (3 March 2012). "Olympic rower Macfarlane made right choice". Stuff. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  16. "129th Annual General Meeting Agenda". Rowing New Zealand. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016.
  17. "Southbridge cox steers for Rio". The Press. 27 July 2016. p. B16. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
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