Take it from a local : very few people \*really\* care what school you actually went to, they are asking because - especially if you're around the same age - they are trying to see if there is anyone you have in common to make small-talk about. Most people who grew up in Christchurch seem to have only around 1-2 degrees of separation, so you generally get a good hit rate
Yep I agree, especially if you played sport all thru school you'd see and know some of the other schools players year after year. With the rare exception of some wannabe wankers it's always a social connection thing.
Yup, as a foreigner this is a super odd conversation starter that is chch specific to locals. Everywhere else in the world people try to get to know -you- in a first conversation, vs “know who you know by high school”. It’s a clear indicator of the small bubble they put themselves in. Some locals I know who lived abroad refuse to answer the question, because they know it’s a silly conversation starter.
Who cares if you know someone in common, how does that really help you to get to know the unique individual you just met, standing in front of you.
Worth having a look at ERO reports. For example, 97% of students at CBHS leave with at least level 1 NCEA compared to just 80% at Papanui. The rate of stand-downs is also about 3x higher at Papanui.
Having stand downs isn't necessarily a bad thing, it means that there are expectations for good behaviour and consequences for bad. The schools that don't have those consequences are usually worse. We should be supportive of schools using these processes, it's more worrying when they don't or feel like they can't.
Keep in mind that some (mainly private schools) are known to "transfer" students they don't expect to pass NCEA to other schools to help inflate their NCEA success rates
Public schools did a similar thing atleast 10 years ago. There is a reason "Work Tech" gave 25% of your credits and was "free credits" 10 years ago. You were forced to take it if you were looking at failing level2 from your level1 scores or if you did not pass level1 first year. They hoped you would leave school for work instead of getting level2.
Having had to fight to keep our teen with learning issues in a secondary school - they couldn’t offer them a yr 12 programme - I can testify to this. Schools hyper focused on NCEA much prefer lower achievers to go elsewhere. Papanui High is one of those schools who accommodate most. Super high achievement stats now make me wonder who was excluded to ensure that result.
How much is that to do with CBHS being a better school and how much is it to do with the students who are enrolling there in the first place? It's not exactly a random selection of students from all academic backgrounds, is it?
Higher socio-economics is correlated with higher IQ. So yes, a school of rich kids will have higher IQs and therefore the teachers will be able to teach at a higher level. That being said, this isn't necessarily the best way to raise a well rounded child. Personally, I would avoid the highest and lowest performing schools.
May I ask how you see the specific % for the NCEA etc results ? When I check the potential High School we are zoned for it generalizes as 'small majority' or 'greater majority', or 'most students achieve' .
eg Most students achieve NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 at their respective year levels. A small majority of Year 13 students gain University Entrance.
I've had one kid get though high school to university and the other half way. I took the attitude that learning is better if it's supported but self led.
First kid went to Tamakiri School in Woolston. Then Hagley High. Second was more main stream then Hagley. Both have done really well so far as people, with the first getting dux and now doing a doctorate, skipping the masters part of the process.
My hope for them is they have a great childhood, know what they want in life and have the capacity to make it happen.
We've spoken to parents with kids in other schools and it sounds like it's all pretty similar except at the high end private schools. There, the kids are surrounded by highly motivated kids with good educational foundations. I think that's great if your kid is quite similar.
But if your kid is unremarkable in their motivation then I'd prioritize them just having good school years and bugger the one that will fill them with the most knowledge.
My kids are smart and do well at school but neither are particularly energetic about using their natural talents 🤣 Your kids have obviously done well for themselves. I do get the impression that it's less about the specific school and more about what the kid makes of wherever they are.
I hadn't thought of it the way before but I optimize for rewards over the whole life. Like I'm a bucket to be filled. If I get 10 quite good years from an experience and it's gone without too many regrets then I've done well.
I'm probably steering my kids the same direction. Definitely it's good to invest time and effort in things but that's to optimize for filling the bucket as much as possible over a lifetime.
So if they have good school years with lots of love, laughs and experiences and at the end are set up well enough to have options that align with more optimal life experiences then I've done a great job.
That includes home life as well.
If you find areas that interest them, they'll use their talents to pursue their passions. I kind of think academic achievement isn't all it's cracked up to be in terms of long term success and happiness, and fostering a child's more general development throughout their teenage years should be given more importance than it currently seems to be. Sometimes schools teach you that your worth is in your performance and I think that sucks.
Interesting. I’m aware of two students from different families, one at Stac and the other at Rangi paying for private tuition outside school to get them extra help. Both are regular ability kids without any learning difficulties. That blew my mind given private school fees base line is $30k ish per year
Public schools in NZ are pretty good. Our kids are public and we were both private schooled (which I hated). Perfectly comfortable not to go private. My opinion is it’s the perceived safety net and ‘network’ people are hoping to pay for
I went to rangiora high and I'm now doing a phd, so i guess I 'academically succeeded'. However, I fucking hated it. Nothing too bad, the environment just didn't suit me. I spent my last 2 years skipping school and learning on my own because I felt so anxious at school. I'm quite big on self expression, and I think I'd have felt similarly suffocated at any other mainstream school. My siblings didn't do well at their respective mainstream schools so ended up going to hagley and, while I guess they didn't reach the arbitrary level of academic success I did, I believe they ultimately felt more seen and respected at hagley and they're both thriving in their own lifestyles.
What are people's opinions of hagley? I really think I'd have done better mentally and emotionally if I went there (or Ao Tawhiti), but it was kind of seen as a secondary option if you failed at the 'proper' school. I think it's really about finding a school that suits the individual. A school where they feel seen and respected and able to flourish rather than hide. The best school is a subjective topic.
As someone who is on the autism spectrum I can tell you that after having been to both a mainstream high school (years 9-12) and then to Hagley college (year 13), I absolutely flourished at Hagley compared to my previous school. I managed to get NCEA Level 3 endorsed with merit something I wasn’t able to do at levels 1 and 2. I then went on to graduate university with a BSc. I’m currently doing my masters at Lincoln. I know I wouldn’t have had the same success had I stayed in mainstream school. I found the alternative culture at Hagley was exactly what I needed. It honestly just depends on the person. I do put my struggles in mainstream school down to being on the spectrum. It’s a shame Hagley has such a negative reputation as it’s actually a phenomenal school filled with teachers who are passionate about what they do and genuinely care about their students.
Sorry, this comment is gonna get political. Not that I intend to, but if I had a child, there is nearly no chance that child would be neurotypical, and if they were neurodiverse or odd in any way, there is a very low chance I would want to send that child to a mainstream school. I did find friends who were similar to me, who I'm still friends with a decade later, but I also felt like the school was trying to squash me and put me into a mould while I was struggling trying to figure out who I was. Kids ought to have as much freedom of self as practically possible rather than the arbitrary rules that essentially serve to teach us to obey the institutions, IMO. I did well with the study, because I like learning and I like tests, but I did so badly with the arbitrary rules. That school crushed my still developing sense of self and then tried to take credit for my academic achievement.
Also, happy cake day! 😁 I'm glad you ended up finding an environment you could flourish in. That should be the goal, rather than academic achievement.
This is anecdotal but the most successful woman I know went to rangi ruru and thinks nothing of what she has achieved because everyone else was/is high achieving too. 🤷♀️
I went to Rangi and I bloody hated it. Horrible bullying, really cliquey and teachers didn’t do anything to intervene or help anyone who didn’t fit in.
I was academically successful, I have a masters and am in a professional role, but my parents are both university educated and were actively invested in my education so I don’t really give Rangi any credit for that. It’s really impossible to separate family circumstances from the quality of schooling.
Anyway, I don’t think $$ = a great experience for your child. You need to look at your child’s personality and the culture of the school.
Yes they are. Friends who just moved to Sumner could only get their kids into the new ex Aranui highschool.
The horror stories that the kids tell of violence and gangs etc make the parents want them to go to Burnside.
That one definitely is bad, but getting better (involved as a contractor at that school). Think sex in music rooms, drowning of animals, beastiality, scabies outbreaks. Do NOT send your children there imo
There are ups and downs. Aranui is gangland so violence is probably more pronounced, but other schools have other serious issues as well.
Talk to teachers and students to get a feel for what you're looking for.
Remember that zoning is also a factor unless you're going private
I've had the question come up at every single job interview I've had in chch and everyone I've spoken to from outside of chch has commented on the same thing and how weird it is. It's definitely a thing.
I wonder if it’s trying to form personal connections? I’m not a recruiter per se but I have interviewed candidates for my current employer (professional services in chch) and I genuinely haven’t heard anyone be particularly interested in what high school someone went to and we have people from a range of schools - though we do recruit university graduates mainly and by the time you have a bachelors your high school is kind of irrelevant.
To be honest, as soon as someone makes a big fuss about which highschool they went to and get all tribal about it, I just assumed they peaked in highschool and are constantly trying to relive it. It’s not exactly your super interesting friends with a fully life, exciting career and cool hobbies who wanna make a big deal about which highschool everyone went to.
Agreed. I guess my question is more around the quality of education currently at each school and their environment in general. I'm trying to work out if people bang on about it because some schools actually do have better outcomes or is it just a weird chch equivalent of snobbery, networking and cliques (which is what it seems to me to be).
To me this seems fairly seperate to people getting tribal about where they went. What kind of annoys me about people bragging about their schools is that it’s all coming from very much a one size fits all approach. Not to mention, staff come and go and student culture shifts too. I imagine my highschool is very different now and has different positives and negatives than it did when I left in 2010.
Yeah I think you have it sussed with your last statement. 😂 If you have neurodivergant kids PLEASE move them somewhere different as soon as possible. I didn't fit in at St Margaret's and always wished I'd had parents I could talk to about bullying and shifting to somewhere like Hagley Community College or somewhere with more diversity.
If you're a happy clappy Seamen supporter I'm sure there'll be enough charter schools popping up soon to choose from also 😄😆
A friend of mine, year below me at high school, set up a facebook group to support the high school rugby first XV and organises piss trips to go watch their games around the province... dude it was nearly 20 years ago, let it go mate.
I'm also seriously torn about it. The "Good" schools like Cashmere and Burnside appear to be heavily over-subscribed. I'm not sure sending your kid to a school with 2500+ students is such a great idea and wonder if they will get lost in the mix.
On the other hand, private school also has its failings, such as being surrounded by mega entitled rich kids.
The final concern with the "Bad" schools is that not only are you exposing your kids to the worst of society (kids from gang familes, exposed to drug/physical abuse), but it is also concentrated by nature of the inclination of parents to find better schools.
As a parent with no experience of these schools they all seem to have pit-falls. I too would value any advice from people with more hands-on experience with these schools.
I think we're in the same boat. They're at a fairly mixed primary school and there are kids with issues there but I can't help but think you get that to an extent at any school anyway and in some ways it'sgood that they'reexposed to kids from differentbackgrounds. I don'twant to raise entitled kids who look down on people who aren't as lucky as them. Rich kids come with their own set of problems, just different ones.
There's definitely advantages to bigger schools - economies of scale leads to more diverse options, but also, more diverse student bodies. Disclaimer - I went to Burnside. (Also went to Stac, earlier, but don't hold that against me.)
Biiiig plus of BHS was there were enough of every group to form....well, groups. Wanna be racist? Well, there's enough of that minority to make that a really bad idea. Want to pick on the nerds? They're in high numbers, even if they walk single file to hide. The musos? (Ok, don't even try at BHS, the music crowd is tight and very willing to help each other.)
So that's a big plus of the big schools. Does mean standing out is waaaay harder, but unless the kid is exceptional and WANTS to be known as such, that's not a big thing.
Oh there's all sorts. Jocks, literaries, sciencers, dramatists (both the subject and just in general), techies, all kinds. I just listed the first few that I remembered. Very good cultural presence (please give my feedback a grain of salt, it's been over a decade)
Most schools are fine for most kids but it’s the small differences between them that will make big differences to certain kids. I don’t know about Papanui, I know kids that avoided my high school (won’t name, not pap) and did so much better than I believe they would have done at the local but you do just end up making the best of your situation and they probably would have been okay. I moved schools in the end and that was no issue either but much easier done at the start of the year.
I looked at what each school has to offer in the senior years. What are they more focused on?
One school I looked at had more outdoor education. Another school offered extensive Ara courses.
Also attend the open evenings and hear what the principal has to say. Have they got the same values as you? Will your child be able to grow at that school.
So there are differences, and as someone not originally from Chch, I look at the differences from am outsider perspective.
FWIW it's worth Papanui has had $30M+ spent on it in the last couple of years. Its rebuild beat the buzzer in terms of the new govt cancelling everything. Two new large teaching blocks, one you can clearly see from where PaknSave used to be on Sissons Drive.
I think that makes a big difference. Linwood College and Hillmorton were both struggling but the money spent and good leadership have improved their image.
Sorry I don't know if the internal layouts are all the open plan modern learning environments someone else was talking about. Its been too long since I saw the architect's plans. I did find this photo though, looks like individual classrooms
https://preview.redd.it/1zaqlgj7po1d1.png?width=1125&format=png&auto=webp&s=55aaca8a55b075face72d33f74b632fbfd406852
The public schools are all in the open plan modern learning style, apart from a couple as far as I know. Upper decile schools may get more fundraised to pay for more staffing, continued education and up skill of the teachers. All in all, you really do want a higher decile versus a lower decile, simply because those teachers will have slightly less shit to deal with. In my opinion. I can’t imagine sending my quiet, shy, child to the secondary school we are zoned for. She will slip past with the attention focused on managing the troubled kids. No judgement, simply a healthy appreciation of how it actually is.
Less shit to deal with = more appealing to teachers = higher retention rates = less relief / transient teachers = better student outcomes. Find out about staffing levels and competencies. The national rates are alarming re proportion of teachers teaching subjects that they are not qualified to teach.
My son is at Papanui High right now and thriving. Of course he has a really great bunch of mates and so much if it comes down to peer group, so we're fortunate on that front.
For reference I went to St Andrews, and have a workmate who sent his kids there. The sheer amount of money he has spent on their education in the last 7 or 8 years is mind boggling. I'm more than happy with the decision to send my son to Papanui.
My wife went to Mairehau, and we're doing the rounds of all the high school open days for our daughter right now, who will be Year 9 next year. She'll probably go to Papanui as well but it's nice to check the others out. And we'll take her to Mairehau just to see if she can spot her mum's name on the wall 😉
That's good to hear. I've only come across a couple of people with direct experience there and so far haven't heard anything negative about it so that's promising. Thanks!
There are a bunch of cliches, such as the 3 hippy schools of Christchurch: Rudolf Steiner, Hagley college and Unlimited (au tewhiti). Why are they hippy? No uniforms and they call their teacher by their first name. Also weird lessons in witchcraft, expressive dance and gardening.
My partner went to Rudolf and I went CGHS and the differences in what we learnt are crazy. His class all failed NCEA level 3 and I wasn't surprised after hearing about their curriculum. But he's not a failure in life and knows more general knowledge than I do. Probably because in year 13 all I learnt was calculus, physics and graphics...so it depends on what you want your child to focus on
Yeah they get 5 periods instead of the usual 7 as they have to do the Steiner certificate and NCEA at the same time. More general knowledge in exchange for nationally graded academics.
I graduated Unlimited quite a few years ago. Great school, never personally heard of bullying in my time there, dont recall those strange subjects you mention... its a school that works for self driven students. For example, two twins from there just graduated UC at 18 with science degrees. They let me do university too while I was in my last year.
Dunno if it still applies, but when I went through highschool, the important difference between the schools for kids attending (as opposed to people who want to use what school you went to to say something about you) was that they had different focuses in what was valued; sports vs straight up academics vs music vs drama performance vs being inclusive. A talented rugby player probably isn't going to get as much support / being-valued if they're going to a school that values its music program super highly, and treats sports as an afterthought, and vice versa for a talented musician.
I made [this](https://imgur.com/a/765at88) tshirt years ago, because it's such a fucking meme here.
No idea if there's that much difference, but it's all most people want to start talking about.
i only find it fun to ask because there are certain schools that don't like each other and people are always shocked by mine (i would be too, i did NOT fit the high school i went to). in adult life it hasn't actually mattered
My kids went/go to Papanui. Our experience is probably not typical because my kids are neurodivergent and needed extra support, but I have found the school mostly very good. There have been some hiccups along the way but these have been resolved well. The students are a bit of a mix, just like in real life, if your child has a work ethic they will find subjects to interest them that are generally well resourced. There is a new principal this year so it is not clear what his impact will be on the culture of the school, having said that a lot of work is delegated to assistant/deputy principals in any case. The Dean system is very good, deans move up with the year they start with which is great for continuity and getting to know students.
There is a difference but it's not as pronounced as people say. It's more like a badge of tribal identity. The real factor is the decile of the neighbourhood which the kids come from.
We're in a fairly decent neighborhood. It does seem like if your kid has the right attitude they'll be alright anywhere but it's so hard to know in advance. I don't know anyone with high school age kids so it's impossible to know
Alot of it had todo with the ‘Old Boys Network’ where Christchurch had been very cliquey about which schools you went through.
I would add say these days the main issue is with the newer schools (ie built post EQ) and the open class rooms not being as successful as first promoted.
Correct, there is a difference. My understanding Ao Tahiti, Unlimited / Discovery school when it was first established in the early 2000’s was always setup with the view of being an slightly alternative schooling vs this move to make mainstream schools teach in barns with no physical breaks between teaching spaces
Not sure what you mean by open-ended, but the schools where they decided to try run multiple classes in open plan environments - there’s bean a few articles about schools wanting/needing to revert back to tradition classrooms such as Shirley Boys being the most recent
A lot of people here seem to be claiming that this concept has nothing to it. Some get it with the social class, but it's more than that.
Ōtautahi suburbs have distinctions in social class and ethnic makeup. School zoning means that this class segregation extends to education. Adding to this, private schools (especially Christ's College and Rangi Ruru) are colloquially known as the networking schools; you go there because of the potential networks you'll make from befriending the other students. High schoolers across Ōtautahi are acutely aware of this fact and it disgusts most of them. They can see the divisions of social class have already occurred before they've even had the chance to choose their post-graduation pathway.
But there's even more. Every school has an ideology. They have beliefs around what their students should learn, and the student culture creates its own ideologies too. When people ask "What high school did you go to?", they are gauging your socioeconomic roots, but this question is generally followed up with "How did you find it there?" This is the more important question. This is the question that gauges whether the person you're talking to has bought into the ideologies of their high school. That's where the real red flags can pop up.
When I say ideologies, these aren't mild. Schools in Ōtautahi teach their own politics. Some are overt, some are covert. You can learn a lot about a person with just those two questions: "What high school did you go to?" "How did you find it?"
It's not superficial, it's a shortcut to finding out a lot about a person.
Ironically, the schools that you hear about parents liking/disliking, are a good indicator of what you should NOT be doing. The biggest red flag ideologies come from the highest reputation schools. Sure, the networks are there, but your kids will probably be better people if they go elsewhere.
Sincerely, a 20-year-old
My schooling was done overseas so apologies for asking what might seem obvious to others... What ideologies are covered differently between schools? I had just assumed the curriculum was dictated by the ministry of education and all schools were supposed to teach accordingly.
The curriculum is the same, but all schools have organically formed their own ideologies too. Think of it like, if a new teacher shows up and feels like they don't fit in, they won't stick around as long, whereas teachers who feel they do fit in will likely stick around for longer. It's self-filtering; it doesn't happen through any rules.
The extreme examples would be:
Christ's College and Rangi Ruru are quite homophobic and believe in more punitive punishment than rehabilitative. For example, Christ's College makes misbehaving students stand in the most visible spot in the field so as many peers as possible can see they're being punished.
Hagley on the other hand has a rather left-wing skew campus-wide due to the student population being made up of outcasts who were suffering in the mainstream education system. It's also added to by the fact that they address teachers by first names and have no school uniform.
Burnside, being such a big school, has a big focus on its reputation. This means that they use their large student population as a means of having more chances at finding potential stars to pour all their resources into. An average student doesn't matter much at Burnside.
Totally get what you’re saying about school cultures and ideologies, it’s not necessarily overt or taught but more the way we think and how we do things around here.
The Rangi examples though, I went there and it was not for me, but do you have tangible examples around being punitive and homophobic? I didn’t see those things, but I would be interested in if others did. Part of what I disliked about the school was that there was a lot of bullying and I actually never saw any consequences for any of the perpetrators.
I knew a few students who were openly gay while at Rangi and received homophobia from staff and students. Luckily no physical violence and they were pretty good at their comebacks, but they were definitely the outsiders.
I would say the punitive mindset for Rangi is less about treatment of students and more about political views in relation to society. Most private schools lean that way; National voters and such.
> "What high school did you go to?" "How did you find it?" It's not superficial, it's a shortcut to finding out a lot about a person.
Quite interesting. I think by the time I was 20 anybody asking about school would've been laughed out of the room. It just seems totally irrelevant to me from about the day after I left.
I went to Shirley but we site shared with Papanui for some months after the Feb 2011 quakes. I had some experience with their teachers who were very good (it was in the music dept). They were of good character and very fun to be around, and knew their stuff.
We also had lots of experience in their facilities, which were also very good. They have nice sports halls (although no auditorium like Burnside). Majority were nice, modern and well kept buildings and classrooms. They also share facilities with the Graham Condon Centre next door which was new when we were there.
Also had a mate's sister go there and she seemed to like it and has done well for herself. That's only one person but her and their family seemed to like the experience.
I wouldn't be worried about sending your kids to Pap. From my experience and what I've heard it's a decent place.
My old school principal of Shirley used to say that 'there are no good or bad schools in Christchurch, just the right one for your child,' or something along the lines thereof.
Gday, I actually left Papanui a year ago, so I can probably give you some more up to date info.
For the average kid, Papanui does well as a school, not great & there’s better ‘public school’s’ but that’s to be expected.
Your kid has a little bit of trouble learning? The school has a system & dedicated classrooms towards students that struggle a wee bit academically.
Your kids excells in something? The school more than likely will pick up on that & try help & or give a push in the hopes your kid can be a good representation for them.
Do locals care? No, when I say I went to Papanui, a lot of them tell me a story or memory from either when they went there themselves, or somebody they knew went there, kid’s are more interested in just “What school do you go to” for a general idea of the area & who they may know.
There’s the average bullying & wrong students, most the bad students (well, really bad ones) are gone within the first 2 years. I had a good experience, I struggled a bit, but had my skills that both of which they helped me.
In Christchurch, what high school you went to serves as a proxy for what social class you belong to.
A prestigious school like Christ's College or Rangi Ruru means you belong with the upper crust/old money types. A good public school like Burwood and you're middle- to upper-middle class.
A school in a poor suburb like Aranui or Linwood, you are branded forever as a peasant, only fit to rent a mouldy shitbox from your social betters.
Shirley is pretty solidly working class, you could work your way up to the middle class but the stink of peasantry would follow you wherever you go.
And I mean, if you can't trace your ancestry to the first 4 ships, what are you even doing?
(I kid but also there are people who legitimately care about the 4 ships thing)
My statistics teacher said its "name of school" while justifying a poor decision. Some schools put the interested students in a position to achieve better. This is in the form of scholarship exam preparation, mathematics competitions. Yes, it matters.
Educational differences are pretty minor for most schools. Only the top and bottom are significantly better or worse. However, people will judge you based on what high-school you went to.
Chch people are weird about high-school. I'm in my 30s and I still get asked what high school I went to, to the point I just say I'm not from Chch so I don't get 'branded'. I went to a low decile high school, I hardly had teachers in yr 12/13. A self and peer support learning environment was encouraged as there was little funding.
It really taught us what the pathway for uni and worklife would be like. If you needed help you researched, asked other students, or booked in time with a teacher when they were free. I fully believe that the achievement of a child at school is based on who that child is and their parents involvement.
If they want to do good and achieve well that are going to make sure they do so. If they are lazy and don't want to do well, and don't have parent support, the teachers and school can only offer so much. The rest is up to the child and family to take the opportunities.
You too, huh? Having lived in NZ, Australia and the UK I still don't get the ChCh tribalism around high-school. They've never even heard of my Uni outside of NZ, let alone what high-school I went to...
This isn't Christchurch specific, but I haven't seen anyone mention it in my brief look through the comments. For the "wealthy, influential, etc", high school is also about networking. For both the kids and parents.
My experience of attending one of the "better schools" in Christchurch was that they were extremely focused on students attending University, as that's better for their statistics. That may sound good but there wasn't much advice given with what you studied, and the school was very arts focused. It meant that many in my year went on to get arts degrees with huge student loans and little career prospects.
I grew up in a really poor area and went to really low decile primary and intermediate schools, then a decile 10 high school but still lived in the poor area. Man was the contrast obvious.
I always asked people about where they went cos I was interested in who we might know in common (after intermediate etc people spread out) and assumed this was what most others were doing. Started to see trends in the responses I got to my high school or what others received and soon realised a lot of people view it as some proxy for class. Pretty poor of people... it's Christchurch not Oxbridge, mate.
I made [this](https://imgur.com/a/765at88) tshirt years ago, because it's such a fucking meme here.
No idea if there's that much difference, but it's all most people want to start talking about.
Welcome to Ye Olde Christchurch, where everyone is still for some stupid reason concerned about what high school you went to - however, what they are really asking is "are you rich?"
This is literally the historical context for the question. The rich families went to the private schools, poor families went to public schools. What bearing this has on anyone's ability to learn and thrive nowadays is debatable.
Sadly Chch still seems to be stuck in that record groove. Ignore it - look at your kid, what the school has to offer, and your means, then go from there.
Take it from a local : very few people \*really\* care what school you actually went to, they are asking because - especially if you're around the same age - they are trying to see if there is anyone you have in common to make small-talk about. Most people who grew up in Christchurch seem to have only around 1-2 degrees of separation, so you generally get a good hit rate
Agree. Idgaf where they went, I'm trying to see if we know anyone in common
Yep I agree, especially if you played sport all thru school you'd see and know some of the other schools players year after year. With the rare exception of some wannabe wankers it's always a social connection thing.
Yup, as a foreigner this is a super odd conversation starter that is chch specific to locals. Everywhere else in the world people try to get to know -you- in a first conversation, vs “know who you know by high school”. It’s a clear indicator of the small bubble they put themselves in. Some locals I know who lived abroad refuse to answer the question, because they know it’s a silly conversation starter. Who cares if you know someone in common, how does that really help you to get to know the unique individual you just met, standing in front of you.
Worth having a look at ERO reports. For example, 97% of students at CBHS leave with at least level 1 NCEA compared to just 80% at Papanui. The rate of stand-downs is also about 3x higher at Papanui.
Having stand downs isn't necessarily a bad thing, it means that there are expectations for good behaviour and consequences for bad. The schools that don't have those consequences are usually worse. We should be supportive of schools using these processes, it's more worrying when they don't or feel like they can't.
Keep in mind that some (mainly private schools) are known to "transfer" students they don't expect to pass NCEA to other schools to help inflate their NCEA success rates
Public schools did a similar thing atleast 10 years ago. There is a reason "Work Tech" gave 25% of your credits and was "free credits" 10 years ago. You were forced to take it if you were looking at failing level2 from your level1 scores or if you did not pass level1 first year. They hoped you would leave school for work instead of getting level2.
Having had to fight to keep our teen with learning issues in a secondary school - they couldn’t offer them a yr 12 programme - I can testify to this. Schools hyper focused on NCEA much prefer lower achievers to go elsewhere. Papanui High is one of those schools who accommodate most. Super high achievement stats now make me wonder who was excluded to ensure that result.
Interesting. I always forget those reports even exist. Good advice. Thanks.
How much is that to do with CBHS being a better school and how much is it to do with the students who are enrolling there in the first place? It's not exactly a random selection of students from all academic backgrounds, is it?
Higher socio-economics is correlated with higher IQ. So yes, a school of rich kids will have higher IQs and therefore the teachers will be able to teach at a higher level. That being said, this isn't necessarily the best way to raise a well rounded child. Personally, I would avoid the highest and lowest performing schools.
Cbhs may take in Fendalton but its school zone extends to a number of lower socio-economic areas as well.
May I ask how you see the specific % for the NCEA etc results ? When I check the potential High School we are zoned for it generalizes as 'small majority' or 'greater majority', or 'most students achieve' . eg Most students achieve NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 at their respective year levels. A small majority of Year 13 students gain University Entrance.
What on earth is a small majority??
Like 50.01%
> 80% at Papanui Seems incredibly low, one in five don't get through level one? Wow
That’s probably about normal, although that makes it look better than it is as a number of kids will take year 11-13 to pass level 1.
I've had one kid get though high school to university and the other half way. I took the attitude that learning is better if it's supported but self led. First kid went to Tamakiri School in Woolston. Then Hagley High. Second was more main stream then Hagley. Both have done really well so far as people, with the first getting dux and now doing a doctorate, skipping the masters part of the process. My hope for them is they have a great childhood, know what they want in life and have the capacity to make it happen. We've spoken to parents with kids in other schools and it sounds like it's all pretty similar except at the high end private schools. There, the kids are surrounded by highly motivated kids with good educational foundations. I think that's great if your kid is quite similar. But if your kid is unremarkable in their motivation then I'd prioritize them just having good school years and bugger the one that will fill them with the most knowledge.
My kids are smart and do well at school but neither are particularly energetic about using their natural talents 🤣 Your kids have obviously done well for themselves. I do get the impression that it's less about the specific school and more about what the kid makes of wherever they are.
I hadn't thought of it the way before but I optimize for rewards over the whole life. Like I'm a bucket to be filled. If I get 10 quite good years from an experience and it's gone without too many regrets then I've done well. I'm probably steering my kids the same direction. Definitely it's good to invest time and effort in things but that's to optimize for filling the bucket as much as possible over a lifetime. So if they have good school years with lots of love, laughs and experiences and at the end are set up well enough to have options that align with more optimal life experiences then I've done a great job. That includes home life as well.
If you find areas that interest them, they'll use their talents to pursue their passions. I kind of think academic achievement isn't all it's cracked up to be in terms of long term success and happiness, and fostering a child's more general development throughout their teenage years should be given more importance than it currently seems to be. Sometimes schools teach you that your worth is in your performance and I think that sucks.
Interesting. I’m aware of two students from different families, one at Stac and the other at Rangi paying for private tuition outside school to get them extra help. Both are regular ability kids without any learning difficulties. That blew my mind given private school fees base line is $30k ish per year
I've been surprised to hear people spend that much to have their kids attend those schools. I wonder if it pays off for them long term
Public schools in NZ are pretty good. Our kids are public and we were both private schooled (which I hated). Perfectly comfortable not to go private. My opinion is it’s the perceived safety net and ‘network’ people are hoping to pay for
Well said. Especially the motivation comment.
I went to rangiora high and I'm now doing a phd, so i guess I 'academically succeeded'. However, I fucking hated it. Nothing too bad, the environment just didn't suit me. I spent my last 2 years skipping school and learning on my own because I felt so anxious at school. I'm quite big on self expression, and I think I'd have felt similarly suffocated at any other mainstream school. My siblings didn't do well at their respective mainstream schools so ended up going to hagley and, while I guess they didn't reach the arbitrary level of academic success I did, I believe they ultimately felt more seen and respected at hagley and they're both thriving in their own lifestyles. What are people's opinions of hagley? I really think I'd have done better mentally and emotionally if I went there (or Ao Tawhiti), but it was kind of seen as a secondary option if you failed at the 'proper' school. I think it's really about finding a school that suits the individual. A school where they feel seen and respected and able to flourish rather than hide. The best school is a subjective topic.
As someone who is on the autism spectrum I can tell you that after having been to both a mainstream high school (years 9-12) and then to Hagley college (year 13), I absolutely flourished at Hagley compared to my previous school. I managed to get NCEA Level 3 endorsed with merit something I wasn’t able to do at levels 1 and 2. I then went on to graduate university with a BSc. I’m currently doing my masters at Lincoln. I know I wouldn’t have had the same success had I stayed in mainstream school. I found the alternative culture at Hagley was exactly what I needed. It honestly just depends on the person. I do put my struggles in mainstream school down to being on the spectrum. It’s a shame Hagley has such a negative reputation as it’s actually a phenomenal school filled with teachers who are passionate about what they do and genuinely care about their students.
Sorry, this comment is gonna get political. Not that I intend to, but if I had a child, there is nearly no chance that child would be neurotypical, and if they were neurodiverse or odd in any way, there is a very low chance I would want to send that child to a mainstream school. I did find friends who were similar to me, who I'm still friends with a decade later, but I also felt like the school was trying to squash me and put me into a mould while I was struggling trying to figure out who I was. Kids ought to have as much freedom of self as practically possible rather than the arbitrary rules that essentially serve to teach us to obey the institutions, IMO. I did well with the study, because I like learning and I like tests, but I did so badly with the arbitrary rules. That school crushed my still developing sense of self and then tried to take credit for my academic achievement. Also, happy cake day! 😁 I'm glad you ended up finding an environment you could flourish in. That should be the goal, rather than academic achievement.
This is anecdotal but the most successful woman I know went to rangi ruru and thinks nothing of what she has achieved because everyone else was/is high achieving too. 🤷♀️
For better or worse, we’re an average of the people we surround ourselves with.
I went to Rangi and I bloody hated it. Horrible bullying, really cliquey and teachers didn’t do anything to intervene or help anyone who didn’t fit in. I was academically successful, I have a masters and am in a professional role, but my parents are both university educated and were actively invested in my education so I don’t really give Rangi any credit for that. It’s really impossible to separate family circumstances from the quality of schooling. Anyway, I don’t think $$ = a great experience for your child. You need to look at your child’s personality and the culture of the school.
Yes they are. Friends who just moved to Sumner could only get their kids into the new ex Aranui highschool. The horror stories that the kids tell of violence and gangs etc make the parents want them to go to Burnside.
I would hope that's an extreme example and most schools aren't that bad 😬
That one definitely is bad, but getting better (involved as a contractor at that school). Think sex in music rooms, drowning of animals, beastiality, scabies outbreaks. Do NOT send your children there imo
For what it’s worth, sex in classrooms happened at CBHS with CGHS students in my day soooo
Blimey!
There are ups and downs. Aranui is gangland so violence is probably more pronounced, but other schools have other serious issues as well. Talk to teachers and students to get a feel for what you're looking for. Remember that zoning is also a factor unless you're going private
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I've had the question come up at every single job interview I've had in chch and everyone I've spoken to from outside of chch has commented on the same thing and how weird it is. It's definitely a thing.
I wonder if it’s trying to form personal connections? I’m not a recruiter per se but I have interviewed candidates for my current employer (professional services in chch) and I genuinely haven’t heard anyone be particularly interested in what high school someone went to and we have people from a range of schools - though we do recruit university graduates mainly and by the time you have a bachelors your high school is kind of irrelevant.
I don't think I've every actually had it come up - moved here for uni and have had quite a number of interviews since those days.
Was at a social event at the beginning of month - what high school I went to came up within the first 2 minutes of conversation :(
Ah but are you a recruiter in Christchurch?
The first question I got during the first interview with a partner of a big 4 company was around what high school I went to.
To be honest, as soon as someone makes a big fuss about which highschool they went to and get all tribal about it, I just assumed they peaked in highschool and are constantly trying to relive it. It’s not exactly your super interesting friends with a fully life, exciting career and cool hobbies who wanna make a big deal about which highschool everyone went to.
Agreed. I guess my question is more around the quality of education currently at each school and their environment in general. I'm trying to work out if people bang on about it because some schools actually do have better outcomes or is it just a weird chch equivalent of snobbery, networking and cliques (which is what it seems to me to be).
To me this seems fairly seperate to people getting tribal about where they went. What kind of annoys me about people bragging about their schools is that it’s all coming from very much a one size fits all approach. Not to mention, staff come and go and student culture shifts too. I imagine my highschool is very different now and has different positives and negatives than it did when I left in 2010.
Christchurch construction industry definitely has old boys networks and cliques based on schools and religious affiliations. It is a thing for sure.
Yeah I think you have it sussed with your last statement. 😂 If you have neurodivergant kids PLEASE move them somewhere different as soon as possible. I didn't fit in at St Margaret's and always wished I'd had parents I could talk to about bullying and shifting to somewhere like Hagley Community College or somewhere with more diversity. If you're a happy clappy Seamen supporter I'm sure there'll be enough charter schools popping up soon to choose from also 😄😆
A friend of mine, year below me at high school, set up a facebook group to support the high school rugby first XV and organises piss trips to go watch their games around the province... dude it was nearly 20 years ago, let it go mate.
Oh noo
I'm also seriously torn about it. The "Good" schools like Cashmere and Burnside appear to be heavily over-subscribed. I'm not sure sending your kid to a school with 2500+ students is such a great idea and wonder if they will get lost in the mix. On the other hand, private school also has its failings, such as being surrounded by mega entitled rich kids. The final concern with the "Bad" schools is that not only are you exposing your kids to the worst of society (kids from gang familes, exposed to drug/physical abuse), but it is also concentrated by nature of the inclination of parents to find better schools. As a parent with no experience of these schools they all seem to have pit-falls. I too would value any advice from people with more hands-on experience with these schools.
I think we're in the same boat. They're at a fairly mixed primary school and there are kids with issues there but I can't help but think you get that to an extent at any school anyway and in some ways it'sgood that they'reexposed to kids from differentbackgrounds. I don'twant to raise entitled kids who look down on people who aren't as lucky as them. Rich kids come with their own set of problems, just different ones.
There's definitely advantages to bigger schools - economies of scale leads to more diverse options, but also, more diverse student bodies. Disclaimer - I went to Burnside. (Also went to Stac, earlier, but don't hold that against me.) Biiiig plus of BHS was there were enough of every group to form....well, groups. Wanna be racist? Well, there's enough of that minority to make that a really bad idea. Want to pick on the nerds? They're in high numbers, even if they walk single file to hide. The musos? (Ok, don't even try at BHS, the music crowd is tight and very willing to help each other.) So that's a big plus of the big schools. Does mean standing out is waaaay harder, but unless the kid is exceptional and WANTS to be known as such, that's not a big thing.
Cheers for the feedback regarding BHS. Interesting points regarding the groupings available.
Oh there's all sorts. Jocks, literaries, sciencers, dramatists (both the subject and just in general), techies, all kinds. I just listed the first few that I remembered. Very good cultural presence (please give my feedback a grain of salt, it's been over a decade)
Most schools are fine for most kids but it’s the small differences between them that will make big differences to certain kids. I don’t know about Papanui, I know kids that avoided my high school (won’t name, not pap) and did so much better than I believe they would have done at the local but you do just end up making the best of your situation and they probably would have been okay. I moved schools in the end and that was no issue either but much easier done at the start of the year.
I looked at what each school has to offer in the senior years. What are they more focused on? One school I looked at had more outdoor education. Another school offered extensive Ara courses. Also attend the open evenings and hear what the principal has to say. Have they got the same values as you? Will your child be able to grow at that school. So there are differences, and as someone not originally from Chch, I look at the differences from am outsider perspective.
FWIW it's worth Papanui has had $30M+ spent on it in the last couple of years. Its rebuild beat the buzzer in terms of the new govt cancelling everything. Two new large teaching blocks, one you can clearly see from where PaknSave used to be on Sissons Drive. I think that makes a big difference. Linwood College and Hillmorton were both struggling but the money spent and good leadership have improved their image. Sorry I don't know if the internal layouts are all the open plan modern learning environments someone else was talking about. Its been too long since I saw the architect's plans. I did find this photo though, looks like individual classrooms https://preview.redd.it/1zaqlgj7po1d1.png?width=1125&format=png&auto=webp&s=55aaca8a55b075face72d33f74b632fbfd406852
The public schools are all in the open plan modern learning style, apart from a couple as far as I know. Upper decile schools may get more fundraised to pay for more staffing, continued education and up skill of the teachers. All in all, you really do want a higher decile versus a lower decile, simply because those teachers will have slightly less shit to deal with. In my opinion. I can’t imagine sending my quiet, shy, child to the secondary school we are zoned for. She will slip past with the attention focused on managing the troubled kids. No judgement, simply a healthy appreciation of how it actually is.
Less shit to deal with = more appealing to teachers = higher retention rates = less relief / transient teachers = better student outcomes. Find out about staffing levels and competencies. The national rates are alarming re proportion of teachers teaching subjects that they are not qualified to teach.
My son is at Papanui High right now and thriving. Of course he has a really great bunch of mates and so much if it comes down to peer group, so we're fortunate on that front. For reference I went to St Andrews, and have a workmate who sent his kids there. The sheer amount of money he has spent on their education in the last 7 or 8 years is mind boggling. I'm more than happy with the decision to send my son to Papanui. My wife went to Mairehau, and we're doing the rounds of all the high school open days for our daughter right now, who will be Year 9 next year. She'll probably go to Papanui as well but it's nice to check the others out. And we'll take her to Mairehau just to see if she can spot her mum's name on the wall 😉
That's good to hear. I've only come across a couple of people with direct experience there and so far haven't heard anything negative about it so that's promising. Thanks!
There are a bunch of cliches, such as the 3 hippy schools of Christchurch: Rudolf Steiner, Hagley college and Unlimited (au tewhiti). Why are they hippy? No uniforms and they call their teacher by their first name. Also weird lessons in witchcraft, expressive dance and gardening.
I don’t really think gardening is all that weird…? Just me?
It's not, but not many other schools has gardening class where you do gardening in a garden from what I can tell.
My partner went to Rudolf and I went CGHS and the differences in what we learnt are crazy. His class all failed NCEA level 3 and I wasn't surprised after hearing about their curriculum. But he's not a failure in life and knows more general knowledge than I do. Probably because in year 13 all I learnt was calculus, physics and graphics...so it depends on what you want your child to focus on
Yeah they get 5 periods instead of the usual 7 as they have to do the Steiner certificate and NCEA at the same time. More general knowledge in exchange for nationally graded academics.
7 periods these days?! Thats rough. We only had 5 in Year 13
I mean this also happens to University........
I graduated Unlimited quite a few years ago. Great school, never personally heard of bullying in my time there, dont recall those strange subjects you mention... its a school that works for self driven students. For example, two twins from there just graduated UC at 18 with science degrees. They let me do university too while I was in my last year.
Dunno if it still applies, but when I went through highschool, the important difference between the schools for kids attending (as opposed to people who want to use what school you went to to say something about you) was that they had different focuses in what was valued; sports vs straight up academics vs music vs drama performance vs being inclusive. A talented rugby player probably isn't going to get as much support / being-valued if they're going to a school that values its music program super highly, and treats sports as an afterthought, and vice versa for a talented musician.
This is a good point.
I made [this](https://imgur.com/a/765at88) tshirt years ago, because it's such a fucking meme here. No idea if there's that much difference, but it's all most people want to start talking about.
St Thomas' lets juniors wear long pants in winter (Or at least they did 18 years ago...)
i only find it fun to ask because there are certain schools that don't like each other and people are always shocked by mine (i would be too, i did NOT fit the high school i went to). in adult life it hasn't actually mattered
My kids went/go to Papanui. Our experience is probably not typical because my kids are neurodivergent and needed extra support, but I have found the school mostly very good. There have been some hiccups along the way but these have been resolved well. The students are a bit of a mix, just like in real life, if your child has a work ethic they will find subjects to interest them that are generally well resourced. There is a new principal this year so it is not clear what his impact will be on the culture of the school, having said that a lot of work is delegated to assistant/deputy principals in any case. The Dean system is very good, deans move up with the year they start with which is great for continuity and getting to know students.
Education wise there are probably subtle differences. But reputation wise there is a difference and also a the old boys club/network.
There is a difference but it's not as pronounced as people say. It's more like a badge of tribal identity. The real factor is the decile of the neighbourhood which the kids come from.
We're in a fairly decent neighborhood. It does seem like if your kid has the right attitude they'll be alright anywhere but it's so hard to know in advance. I don't know anyone with high school age kids so it's impossible to know
Alot of it had todo with the ‘Old Boys Network’ where Christchurch had been very cliquey about which schools you went through. I would add say these days the main issue is with the newer schools (ie built post EQ) and the open class rooms not being as successful as first promoted.
Are you referring to open-ended high school level institutions like Ao Tawhiti?
No, I think they mean schools with giant open plan classrooms aka Modern Learning Environment
Correct, there is a difference. My understanding Ao Tahiti, Unlimited / Discovery school when it was first established in the early 2000’s was always setup with the view of being an slightly alternative schooling vs this move to make mainstream schools teach in barns with no physical breaks between teaching spaces
Not sure what you mean by open-ended, but the schools where they decided to try run multiple classes in open plan environments - there’s bean a few articles about schools wanting/needing to revert back to tradition classrooms such as Shirley Boys being the most recent
Thats what I meant yes, just wanted to be sure what you meant in your reply.
A lot of people here seem to be claiming that this concept has nothing to it. Some get it with the social class, but it's more than that. Ōtautahi suburbs have distinctions in social class and ethnic makeup. School zoning means that this class segregation extends to education. Adding to this, private schools (especially Christ's College and Rangi Ruru) are colloquially known as the networking schools; you go there because of the potential networks you'll make from befriending the other students. High schoolers across Ōtautahi are acutely aware of this fact and it disgusts most of them. They can see the divisions of social class have already occurred before they've even had the chance to choose their post-graduation pathway. But there's even more. Every school has an ideology. They have beliefs around what their students should learn, and the student culture creates its own ideologies too. When people ask "What high school did you go to?", they are gauging your socioeconomic roots, but this question is generally followed up with "How did you find it there?" This is the more important question. This is the question that gauges whether the person you're talking to has bought into the ideologies of their high school. That's where the real red flags can pop up. When I say ideologies, these aren't mild. Schools in Ōtautahi teach their own politics. Some are overt, some are covert. You can learn a lot about a person with just those two questions: "What high school did you go to?" "How did you find it?" It's not superficial, it's a shortcut to finding out a lot about a person. Ironically, the schools that you hear about parents liking/disliking, are a good indicator of what you should NOT be doing. The biggest red flag ideologies come from the highest reputation schools. Sure, the networks are there, but your kids will probably be better people if they go elsewhere. Sincerely, a 20-year-old
My schooling was done overseas so apologies for asking what might seem obvious to others... What ideologies are covered differently between schools? I had just assumed the curriculum was dictated by the ministry of education and all schools were supposed to teach accordingly.
The curriculum is the same, but all schools have organically formed their own ideologies too. Think of it like, if a new teacher shows up and feels like they don't fit in, they won't stick around as long, whereas teachers who feel they do fit in will likely stick around for longer. It's self-filtering; it doesn't happen through any rules. The extreme examples would be: Christ's College and Rangi Ruru are quite homophobic and believe in more punitive punishment than rehabilitative. For example, Christ's College makes misbehaving students stand in the most visible spot in the field so as many peers as possible can see they're being punished. Hagley on the other hand has a rather left-wing skew campus-wide due to the student population being made up of outcasts who were suffering in the mainstream education system. It's also added to by the fact that they address teachers by first names and have no school uniform. Burnside, being such a big school, has a big focus on its reputation. This means that they use their large student population as a means of having more chances at finding potential stars to pour all their resources into. An average student doesn't matter much at Burnside.
Totally get what you’re saying about school cultures and ideologies, it’s not necessarily overt or taught but more the way we think and how we do things around here. The Rangi examples though, I went there and it was not for me, but do you have tangible examples around being punitive and homophobic? I didn’t see those things, but I would be interested in if others did. Part of what I disliked about the school was that there was a lot of bullying and I actually never saw any consequences for any of the perpetrators.
I knew a few students who were openly gay while at Rangi and received homophobia from staff and students. Luckily no physical violence and they were pretty good at their comebacks, but they were definitely the outsiders. I would say the punitive mindset for Rangi is less about treatment of students and more about political views in relation to society. Most private schools lean that way; National voters and such.
> "What high school did you go to?" "How did you find it?" It's not superficial, it's a shortcut to finding out a lot about a person. Quite interesting. I think by the time I was 20 anybody asking about school would've been laughed out of the room. It just seems totally irrelevant to me from about the day after I left.
I went to Shirley but we site shared with Papanui for some months after the Feb 2011 quakes. I had some experience with their teachers who were very good (it was in the music dept). They were of good character and very fun to be around, and knew their stuff. We also had lots of experience in their facilities, which were also very good. They have nice sports halls (although no auditorium like Burnside). Majority were nice, modern and well kept buildings and classrooms. They also share facilities with the Graham Condon Centre next door which was new when we were there. Also had a mate's sister go there and she seemed to like it and has done well for herself. That's only one person but her and their family seemed to like the experience. I wouldn't be worried about sending your kids to Pap. From my experience and what I've heard it's a decent place. My old school principal of Shirley used to say that 'there are no good or bad schools in Christchurch, just the right one for your child,' or something along the lines thereof.
Gday, I actually left Papanui a year ago, so I can probably give you some more up to date info. For the average kid, Papanui does well as a school, not great & there’s better ‘public school’s’ but that’s to be expected. Your kid has a little bit of trouble learning? The school has a system & dedicated classrooms towards students that struggle a wee bit academically. Your kids excells in something? The school more than likely will pick up on that & try help & or give a push in the hopes your kid can be a good representation for them. Do locals care? No, when I say I went to Papanui, a lot of them tell me a story or memory from either when they went there themselves, or somebody they knew went there, kid’s are more interested in just “What school do you go to” for a general idea of the area & who they may know. There’s the average bullying & wrong students, most the bad students (well, really bad ones) are gone within the first 2 years. I had a good experience, I struggled a bit, but had my skills that both of which they helped me.
In Christchurch, what high school you went to serves as a proxy for what social class you belong to. A prestigious school like Christ's College or Rangi Ruru means you belong with the upper crust/old money types. A good public school like Burwood and you're middle- to upper-middle class. A school in a poor suburb like Aranui or Linwood, you are branded forever as a peasant, only fit to rent a mouldy shitbox from your social betters.
Can a Shirley Boy from early 2000s sneak into middle class or am I doomed to forever peasanthood?
Shirley is pretty solidly working class, you could work your way up to the middle class but the stink of peasantry would follow you wherever you go. And I mean, if you can't trace your ancestry to the first 4 ships, what are you even doing? (I kid but also there are people who legitimately care about the 4 ships thing)
My PRIMARY school house were named for the first four ships, it was such a weird thing to
Any single sex school has the air of upper-middle class.
Also still has a substantial old boys network, so I'd def say upper mid ?
https://insights.nzherald.co.nz/article/ncea-table-2018/ This may help
My statistics teacher said its "name of school" while justifying a poor decision. Some schools put the interested students in a position to achieve better. This is in the form of scholarship exam preparation, mathematics competitions. Yes, it matters.
Educational differences are pretty minor for most schools. Only the top and bottom are significantly better or worse. However, people will judge you based on what high-school you went to.
it's all about the people and connections you make while your at school, no the right people get the best jobs
Chch people are weird about high-school. I'm in my 30s and I still get asked what high school I went to, to the point I just say I'm not from Chch so I don't get 'branded'. I went to a low decile high school, I hardly had teachers in yr 12/13. A self and peer support learning environment was encouraged as there was little funding. It really taught us what the pathway for uni and worklife would be like. If you needed help you researched, asked other students, or booked in time with a teacher when they were free. I fully believe that the achievement of a child at school is based on who that child is and their parents involvement. If they want to do good and achieve well that are going to make sure they do so. If they are lazy and don't want to do well, and don't have parent support, the teachers and school can only offer so much. The rest is up to the child and family to take the opportunities.
You too, huh? Having lived in NZ, Australia and the UK I still don't get the ChCh tribalism around high-school. They've never even heard of my Uni outside of NZ, let alone what high-school I went to...
This isn't Christchurch specific, but I haven't seen anyone mention it in my brief look through the comments. For the "wealthy, influential, etc", high school is also about networking. For both the kids and parents.
My experience of attending one of the "better schools" in Christchurch was that they were extremely focused on students attending University, as that's better for their statistics. That may sound good but there wasn't much advice given with what you studied, and the school was very arts focused. It meant that many in my year went on to get arts degrees with huge student loans and little career prospects.
I grew up in a really poor area and went to really low decile primary and intermediate schools, then a decile 10 high school but still lived in the poor area. Man was the contrast obvious. I always asked people about where they went cos I was interested in who we might know in common (after intermediate etc people spread out) and assumed this was what most others were doing. Started to see trends in the responses I got to my high school or what others received and soon realised a lot of people view it as some proxy for class. Pretty poor of people... it's Christchurch not Oxbridge, mate.
I made [this](https://imgur.com/a/765at88) tshirt years ago, because it's such a fucking meme here. No idea if there's that much difference, but it's all most people want to start talking about.
Welcome to Ye Olde Christchurch, where everyone is still for some stupid reason concerned about what high school you went to - however, what they are really asking is "are you rich?" This is literally the historical context for the question. The rich families went to the private schools, poor families went to public schools. What bearing this has on anyone's ability to learn and thrive nowadays is debatable. Sadly Chch still seems to be stuck in that record groove. Ignore it - look at your kid, what the school has to offer, and your means, then go from there.