Burnside High School

Burnside High School is a state co-educational secondary school located in the suburb of Burnside in Christchurch, New Zealand. With a roll of students, it is the largest school in New Zealand outside Auckland, and is among the country's four largest schools. History The Burnside property, an area of , belonged to Canterbury University College (later the University of Canterbury) as an endowment. When the college considered moving away from its central city site, the Burnside property was considered, but the college purchased what is now known as the Ilam campus from the late 1940s instead. A reduced land area was used by the Ministry of Education for Burnside High School. In April 1958, the Christchurch Post-primary Schools’ Council unanimously recommended Burnside High School be constructed and by a 7–2 margin recommended it as a single-sex girls' school. The lack of consultation, opposition from the community, and incorrect interpretation about demand for girls' secondary school places saw the council resind its decision to make Burnside a single-sex girls' school. On 24 June 1958, the council voted by a 6–4 margin to recommend Burnside be a coeducational school. Cabinet approved construction of the school in August 1958. Tenders for the first stage of construction were called, closing on 30 January 1959. Approval of a construction tender was delayed until late March 1959, losing three months of dry weather for construction and risking the completion in time for the 1960 school year. The tender for the first stage was let to John Calder Limited for £160,000, and construction began in mid-April 1959.