School ties
Single sex or co-ed? State or private? Religious or secular? Amanda Cropp gives her personal take on choosing the "right" high school.
An educated guess
By now, many parents with children heading off to high school next year will be succumbing to "open night" exhaustion. Sufferers have a glazed look that comes from spending evenings studying glossy school prospectuses, inspecting classroom displays, sitting on hard seats in cold halls listening to principals extolling the virtues of their institutions, and hoping like hell their kids like what they see.
Yes, the Cantabrian reputation for being obsessed with schooling is alive and well, a fact that was brought home by comment from a British migrant I recently got chatting to on a bus. She was stunned when an acquaintance asked which secondary school her pre-school daughter would be attending.
"She's not even at primary school yet and they were talking about college!"
In the current economic climate and with the growing need for a skilled workforce, parents can hardly be blamed for making education a high priority, but sorting out the right school for a child can be a bewildering task.
Some families just enrol their children in the nearest in-zone college. Others go "school shopping" - much less fun than regular retail therapy, because it means endless open nights, filling out reams of application forms, then anxiously awaiting the outcome of ballots for out-of-zone places and private school selection interviews.
A couple of years ago, my husband and I were among the "shoppers", although owing to his shift work, he conveniently managed to miss several of the school visits.
At the outset, I got some useful advice from a friend who had sent her two sons to the local state school (where they excelled), rather than join the white flight to supposedly more "desirable" schools across town.
She recommended talking to parents who actually had children at the schools in which we were interested, rather than listening to second-hand scuttlebutt from gossip-mongers who didn't. Her view was bright kids do well anywhere and most youngsters have a way of instinctively picking which school is right for them, even if it is based on something as quirky as the smell in the corridors. "They just know."
I wasn't too sure about the efficacy of this "sniff test" as we embarked on a visit to St Andrew's College. There were no distinctive pongs; just a very slick marketing campaign. Each family was allotted a helpful student escort, and the tour was followed by a second evening session in the school chapel, where we heard an address from the principal and glowing references from students.
With no girls in our family, I liked the fact the school was co-ed. My eldest son liked the flash library, while the youngest son, who had tagged along rather reluctantly, was completely won over by the homemade shortbread served with refreshments.
We duly applied for a place and went through the interview process. Our bright, sporty son ticked all the boxes, but it felt uncomfortably like we were "marketing" him to win a place, not to mention what it would do to his self-esteem if he was turned down (he wasn't).
Next up was Christ's College, where we were herded around with half a dozen other families by a couple of inarticulate youths providing an incoherent and mostly inaudible commentary. As a boarder at sister school St Margaret's College during my own high school years, I'd been a regular visitor to Christ's, so it wasn't foreign territory, but for all the superficially attractive trappings, we weren't wildly impressed.
The school assured us that if we gave them our boy they'd give us back a man, leaving the impression it would take over our parenting role.
The spotlessly clean art room could have passed for a hospital operating theatre, and the two immaculately black-suited staff looked more like undertakers than artists. In the gym, a wooden horse for practising polo highlighted the "haves" at this school would greatly outnumber the "have-nots".
Our son hated everything about it: the stripy uniform, the old buildings, the compulsory chapel services, and the conservatively dressed teachers. Halfway through the tour, he told his father very firmly: "Dad, if you send me here, I will never speak to you again."
Our younger son was thoroughly peeved when we left without partaking of the fabulous afternoon tea.
At the Cashmere High School open night, it seemed as though half the city had turned up for a tour that was little short of controlled chaos. I admired the candour of the staff member who jokingly admitted the event was held at night because the school looked better in the dark, but the son wasn't sold on what he saw.
"It's too big; I'd just get lost."
The visit to Shirley Boys' High School was more successful. If you could power a jet with testosterone, there was enough here to run a whole fleet of 737s, but the place had a great vibe and it was refreshing to meet teachers with a sense of humour. The values promoted in the school's "Shirley Man" programme and the extension class for bright students were other big pluses.
At Linwood College, our tour guide, a polite young Afghani refugee, provided intelligent answers to all our questions and, despite the tired buildings, we couldn't fault the enthusiasm of the students or the dedication of their teachers.
Both Linwood and Shirley Boys' ran separate evening meetings where parents could grill the principals on any subject, from bullying to drug abuse.
After those no-holds-barred sessions, I decided an inspiring principal and good senior staff can set standards that percolate down through the whole school.
Academic results are important, and smart buildings and state-of-the-art computer hardware can be very seductive, but there are other things to consider. Take the NCEA league tables. It's no surprise private schools dominate the top levels, because they get to hand-pick their students, whereas state schools have to take in-zone students regardless of their learning difficulties or behavioural issues.
As public school principals frequently point out, league tables fail to take into account the "added value" they manage to achieve with youngsters who start out with academic skills well below par. Besides, succeeding in life is not just about academic prowess.
We live in Sumner, a higher income suburb that isn't exactly a cultural melting pot, heavily populated as it is with Pakeha, United Kingdom migrants, and a tiny sprinkling of Maori, Pacific Island and Asian faces. We want our sons to be comfortable dealing with people from a wide range of social, economic and ethnic backgrounds, and felt more confident state schools could offer that diversity.
I completely accept that some kids benefit enormously from the smaller classes and more individualised 
attention available in private schools, but, in our case, it was hard to justify spending thousands of dollars a year on tuition fees for a boy who would do well at any of the state schools open to him.
Added to that, he is intent on a career that calls for an expensive university education that we will undoubtedly have to help fund. So, in the end, the decision was pretty straightforward: Shirley Boys' High was our first choice and, despite missing out in the ballot, our son got in off the waiting list.
This year, his younger brother joined him at Shirley, but following in the footsteps of an older sibling is not a given these days. Families are increasingly abandoning the tradition of sending all their children to the same school as a matter of course. Instead, school choice is based on individual needs and preferences, so one child might attend a single-sex school while another goes co-ed.
My only other advice to parents going through the high school selection process is to try to be positive about the schools at which your children end up, because your attitude can colour theirs.
Just remember, it's not the end of the world if things don't work out; kids can and do successfully move schools, even if it means waiting for a place to come up somewhere else.
This year, I'll be back at a school open night in my capacity as a PTA member, pouring cups of tea and fielding questions from anxious parents trying to suss out just the right place for their offspring. I can only wish them the very best of luck!
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As a Christ's College boy its extremely insulting to hear you say that kind of stuff. Maybe our art rooms look like operating theater because we actually give a damn about our school being clean and not completely covered in paint. Our buildings aren't old and dinjy they're historic pieces of Christchurch architecture and our teachers are conservatively dressed because they as a staff believe that you should look in the mirror before you leave the house. As a school we have the most excellence and merit marks for NCEA and thats not just due to the school being able to choose who gets in because in my personal opinion i think there are some people that would find it hard spelling ''at''. A lot of the students leave the school with great qualifications and get into not only top universities in New Zealand but also overseas. A number have walked through the gates and left after five years to became extremely successful in their respective fields some examples are Robbie Deans, an ex All Black and ex coach of the Crusaders, now coaching the Australian national team, and also Sam Neil who left to star in very well known and liked movies such as Jurassic park, and also the Kiwi Bank ad. So before you make such rash decisions and judgements about a school or place that you had only spent up to two hours in you should take into consideration that the success of the students is due to this place refereed by you as a superficially attractive institution.
Regards
Harry, Roydon and Max
We too, visited this same school at a recent "open day" - and had the opposite experience. The boys were far from inarticulate, incohesive or inaudible!! It was a wonderful experience - regular chapel service isn't a big deal, and the old buildings are steeped in history on many different levels. Obviously some children and their families don't understand or care about this!! My son loves the idea of being at such school!! Often a change in Headmaster/Principle can make a huge difference to how a school presents itself etc. And this needs to be taken in to consideration when reading such an article. At the end of the day this is the experience of the author and her family and I'm guessing it was a few years ago - there can be massive change in the space of a couple years!! There is no other topic in Christchurch that is more polarising than that of schooling!!!
Yet another middle-class Port Hills parent to by-pass Linwood College in favour of a supposedly "better" school.
It's the same old story, private schools and single-sex state schools suck the top-talent out of the Linwood zone, and then claim responsibility for these students' later success.
In the mid-1980s, 80% of Port Hills students went to Linwood, and the school flourished academically and culturally. Then the snobs moved in and suddenly Linwood wasn't "good enough". If everyone in the Linwood zone sent their children to Linwood, its decile rating and academic record would sky-rocket.
My son loved St Andrews so much he moved in to become a week day boarder. Discovered the working Television Studio and became involved in Media. Now lives and works in Auckland with Live Sport and Television and is only 22 year old. Thanks STAC for providing a great co-ed education.
Nigel #4 is correct.
The most important factor in a state school's success is the quality of students it attracts. Between the 1950s and the late 1980s, most high-calibre Sumner, Redcliffs, and Mt Pleasant students attended Linwood and - as a result - its academic record was excellent. Schools such as Shirley and Boys' High poach the best kids from other zones, and then take the credit for their inevitable academic success. Shame on them and shame on ignorant Christchurch parents for being so-easily fooled.
My family is returning to NZ from overseas next yr and I am looking at what high school to send my daughter. Our house is in the Cashmere High School one - is the writer of this opinion piece accurate in her rather dismal description of their visit there, do you think? my daughter likes art, writing, French and music and gets on well in a multicultural environment. Any advice appreciated. Also, in our case we are not middle class, but liberal, well-read working class types who work verryyy hard.
Not a very wise addition to Avenues at all.
I am well aware that this is an opinion piece however you would have to have rocks in your head if you thought the typical pro-Christ’s College person, or parent of a Christ’s College boy, was typically not of the exact same demographic that Avenues Magazine has strived to target and so desperately want to read their publication.
Know your market. Would a piece in Avenues go down well if it were to rubbish the ‘hoity-toity’, ‘ponsy’ people of Fendalton, Merivale, Sumner and Cashmere? The magazine effectively prides itself on the readers residing there and gives the magazine free to them with their monthly delivery of The Press. It doesn’t reek of equality but such is life; it’s a good business model and it makes commercial sense. These same people will be more likely to send their son to the school that writer effectively rubbishes.
As an ex-Christ’s College lad (and not long out, at that), I would like to give credit where Ms. Cropp (the writer) fails to – and after reading the item, I’m facetiously predicting she’d be the type to insist she go by the prefix of ”Ms”. Does ‘College’ academically trample anything that dare compete with it? Probably not. Is a fine education available to those who can’t afford to pay for private tuition? Of course. But there’s a bit more to it than that. While all the prerequisite basics exist almost wherever you go, it’s the extra at Christ’s College that you can’t put a value on which ‘Ms.’ Cropp won’t ever appreciate. There’s not one ex-College pupil who may conduct themselves professionally or socially poorly that doesn’t know better! It’s about good traditions well maintained and I’m afraid there’s a value on that which is pretty priceless.
And sorry about those cruddy old buildings Amanda, some unknown Warren geezer had a hand in them, whoever that is.
My son attended Christ's and we - as a family - loved everything about it. The young men who responded earlier are an excellent example of the Christ's College attitude. Our lovely boy emerged from Christ's as a young man who continues to impress not just us but those he meets, as a polite, articulate, intelligent person. Everyone has their own opinion regarding state versus private, but the consequences of your choice of school will - rightly or wrongly - influence the rest of your child's life. Perhaps the writer could have approached all of her school visits with an open mind?
When I was looking at high schools the top two that my parents and I considered were Christ's College and Shirley Boys' High. Even though the reputation was better for CC, SBHS did have the better vibe. My father commented that the science labs were much better at SBHS and that was the sort of thing that I was interested in.
So much of a school is the 'feel' or vibe. Give your kids credit where it is due and let them choose. Bright children will achieve at pretty much any school, but may have a more enjoyable time. My wife went to a rural high school near Christchurch and now has a PhD, but there were only one or two other pupils at her level at the school. At SBHS there were about eight higher-achievers and that provided competition and friendship.
State single-sex schools have zones too, and their results take this into account. It is important to realise that schools do change. The co-ed state school in my zone was a no-go when I went through high school, but from all accounts is doing really well now.
Check them out, go with what feels right, and take advantage of opportunities. Elite sportspeople pick and choose, so why not those that are gifted in the arts, humanities & sciences?
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I wish the author the best for choosing which school to send her son to, but like many opinion pieces its always coloured by underlying personal preferences. Don't get me wrong personal opinion has its place, and many use blogs to do so, but does it warrant inclusion in the Avenues magazine? I was one of those "inarticulate" youths, taught by well dressed "undertakers" and I wonder whether or not there was anything in the author's visit that she actually enjoyed?