St Margaret's College

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St Margaret’s College was founded in 1910 through the energy, faith, and determination of Bishop (later Archbishop) Julius who convinced the Synod of the Diocese of Christchurch of the need to establish a school for girls to parallel that already set up for boys. The Sisters of the Kilburn Order in London were invited to set up the school and it opened at 28 Armagh Street with 50 pupils. Under the Sisters, the school flourished and in 1913, with a roll of over 100, it moved into a new building on the corner of Cranmer Square and Chester Street West.
In 1931 when the Sisters had to leave their educational work in New Zealand, they handed over to the Diocese a school strong in numbers and rooted firmly in the traditions and tenets of the Anglican faith. The Diocese appointed Mrs. Stephanie Grace Young MA (Oxon) as its first lay Headmistress and, in 1933, a Trust Board was set up to be responsible to the Diocese for the governance of the school. Its first Chairman was Bishop West-Watson, Bishop of Christchurch and later Primate of New Zealand.
With a commitment to holistic education, balancing academic excellence with a multitude of co-curricular opportunities, St Margaret’s College encourages students and staff to discover their passions and be the very best they can be. A St Margaret’s College education is founded on Anglican values with a focus on service and wellbeing offered within a modern school environment promoting diversity, innovation, and sustainability. Each student is set up for success, joining a global alumni network of wahine toa with the courage to embrace change, the confidence to lead, the desire to learn, and the drive to make a positive impact on the world.
At St Margaret’s Pre-School, we encourage children to be curious about their world. Our teachers provide opportunities for boys and girls to develop inquiring minds as they become creative and confident communicators and responsible citizens with a love of learning. In partnership with parents and whānau, we provide a nurturing environment where all children will thrive socially, emotionally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually.
Our curriculum is based on the vision of Te Whāriki: that children grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society. We support and extend children’s learning by providing opportunities through an inquiry-based curriculum, enriched by specialist classes, facilities, and teachers.
Our qualified teachers, support and extend children’s natural curiosity by planning an inquiry-based program drawing on current interests, events, and questions. Teachers provide a variety of experiences that weave the emerging inquiry into various curriculum areas that support the development of literacy, numeracy, motor skills, social interactions, art, and music. Through active investigation, children develop working theories and learn to question, investigate, experiment, and theorize in their quest for answers and solutions.
We understand the importance of a smooth transition from pre-school to school as our children move to the next stage of their learning journey. Our transition to school program offers older boys and girls the opportunity to experience the routines, environment, and expectations of this next stage with one of our ECE and primary qualified teachers. All children are offered a term of this classroom experience up to three times a week. This complements the school visits they may be offered by the school they will be attending. In addition, our Pre-School boys are also invited to experience an all-boys environment at Medbury School.
St Margaret’s College Senior School offers a wide range of exciting learning experiences for our senior students providing a sound foundation for success in NCEA or International Baccalaureate and most importantly, for their life beyond secondary education. We value holistic education blended with strong learning and academic focus. Our exceptional academic record provides outstanding opportunities for St Margaret’s girls in their future.
St Margaret’s College is the only girls’ school in the South Island to offer a dual academic pathway in the Senior School, incorporating both NCEA and the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB). In offering IB we allow our students to follow a philosophy of education and an internationally recognized qualification which reflects exactly what St Margaret’s is all about. Our Year 11 students study NCEA then in Year 12 the students are in the enviable position to choose whether they continue with their NCEA program or move to IB. This choice enables our students to follow the learning and assessment pathway that best suits their individual needs.

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