Avonside Girls' High School
Secondary (Year 9-15) · State
- Year levels
- 9–13
- Total roll
- 1,089
- Enrolment zone
- Yes
- Gender
- Girls School
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 209 Travis Road, North New Brighton, Christchurch
- Territorial authority
- Christchurch City
- Phone
- 03-3897199
- office@avonside.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Christchurch · schools in Canterbury
Can my child go here?
This school has an enrolment scheme, so a place is not open to every address. How enrolment zones work
Loading zone map…
Zone boundaries shown here are approximate. Ministry of Education data warns these boundaries do not have high spatial precision and can place neighbouring addresses on different sides of a line. This is not a confirmation of enrolment eligibility — always confirm directly with the school. Zone geometry also does not reflect enrolment priority rules (siblings, special character categories, ballots) — it shows the mapped boundary only.
Check if your address is in zone →
Source: Ministry of Education, CC BY 3.0 NZ
What would the day look like?
The practical things this school states on its own website — the hours, the uniform, the term dates, and how children get there. These are the school’s own words, not the Ministry’s record and not ERO’s.
Quoted from this school’s own website, as we read it on 13 August 2026. A web page carries no date of its own, so that is the day we read it — not a statement that any of this is still the case. Each line quotes the words it came from.
- Uniform
- Required
Consequently, students are to be in correct school uniform when: - At school - Travelling to and from school (with the exception of wet weather and safety gear)
- Required
- Where to buy the uniform
- https://ushop.uniformgroup.co.nz/
UNIFORM GROUP: Unit 7, 317-319 Pages Road, Aranui You can visit their website [HERE.](https://ushop.uniformgroup.co.nz/)
- https://ushop.uniformgroup.co.nz/
What does the school say about itself?
Quoted, not summarised. Every school describes itself well, so this is here to be read as the school’s own case rather than as a finding — and a school that states nothing simply has no row.
Quoted from this school’s own website, as we read it on 13 August 2026. A web page carries no date of its own, so that is the day we read it — not a statement that any of this is still the case. Each line quotes the words it came from.
- In their words
- Vision – Young women at Avonside Girls’ High School are challenged to achieve personal excellence in a progressive and supportive learning environment.
- Values – A strong sense of identity, courage, compassion, determination and leadership are encompassed in our poutama of values – Te whare mauri ora, our way of being at Avonside for staff and students.
- International students
- Accepted, as stated
International students are embraced as part of the community and receive tailored support to help them adjust and succeed.
- Accepted, as stated
What is on offer beyond the classroom?
The sports, arts, clubs and groups this school names on its own website. Not a complete list of what any school offers, and not a count — a school that names more here has written more down, which is not the same as doing more.
Quoted from this school’s own website, as we read it on 13 August 2026. A web page carries no date of its own, so that is the day we read it — not a statement that any of this is still the case. Each line quotes the words it came from.
- On offer
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Basketball
- Canoe Polo
- Cross Country
- Cricket
- Equestrian competition
- Fencing
- Football
- Gymnastics
- Hockey
- Indoor Netball
- Korfball
- Multi-Sport
- Netball
- Rowing
- Road Racing
- Rugby
- Skiing
- Softball
- Sport Climbing
- Squash
- Surfing
- Swimming
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
- Touch Rugby
- Trampolining
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Waterpolo
- Choir
Choir Combine Choir
- Combine Choir with Shirley Boys’ High School
- Dance – Contemporary, Hip Hop, K Pop
- Clarinet Ensemble
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 895
- Māori
- 284
- Pacific
- 120
- Asian
- 108
- MELAA
- 17
- Other
- 13
- International
- 45
Roll by year level and age
Shown as context, not ranked, not compared to any average. As at 30 June 2026, from the same annual return as the roll count above.
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 09 | 61 | 25 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 187 | 0 | 215 |
| Year 10 | 69 | 28 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 201 | 4 | 242 |
| Year 11 | 52 | 23 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 186 | 15 | 229 |
| Year 12 | 44 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 167 | 12 | 201 |
| Year 13+ | 36 | 21 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 145 | 12 | 177 |
| Total | 262 | 113 | 56 | 13 | 12 | 886 | 43 | 1064 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 13 | 53 | 23 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 153 | 0 | 176 |
| Age 14 | 68 | 28 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 195 | 1 | 232 |
| Age 15 | 55 | 20 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 199 | 12 | 240 |
| Age 16 | 44 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 171 | 16 | 209 |
| Age 17 | 35 | 23 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 135 | 8 | 164 |
| Age 18 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 5 | 41 |
| Age 19+ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 262 | 113 | 56 | 13 | 12 | 886 | 43 | 1064 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Academic results
Percentage with NCEA level 1 or above — 2025
86.1%
| Avonside Girls' High School | 86.1% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 87.1% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 88% |
| State: Not integrated | 83.6% |
| New Zealand | 85.2% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 86.1% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not applicable |
| Māori | 78.6% |
| Pacific | 91.7% |
| Asian | 90% |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Too few to report |
| European/Pākehā | 86.7% |
| Total | 86.1% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 1 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with NCEA level 2 or above — 2025
77.8%
| Avonside Girls' High School | 77.8% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 79.6% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 81% |
| State: Not integrated | 75.4% |
| New Zealand | 77.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 77.8% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not applicable |
| Māori | 69.6% |
| Pacific | 79.2% |
| Asian | 90% |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Too few to report |
| European/Pākehā | 78.8% |
| Total | 77.8% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 2 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with NCEA level 3 or above — 2025
57.4%
| Avonside Girls' High School | 57.4% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 59% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 61.8% |
| State: Not integrated | 55.2% |
| New Zealand | 59% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 57.4% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not applicable |
| Māori | 50% |
| Pacific | 62.5% |
| Asian | 80% |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Too few to report |
| European/Pākehā | 58.6% |
| Total | 57.4% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 3 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with VP Award — 2025
23.5%
| Avonside Girls' High School | 23.5% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 13.7% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 15.2% |
| State: Not integrated | 14.4% |
| New Zealand | 14.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 23.5% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not applicable |
| Māori | 19.6% |
| Pacific | 8.3% |
| Asian | 30% |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Too few to report |
| European/Pākehā | 24.1% |
| Total | 23.5% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison Vocational Pathway data (2023-2025)
Retention
Percentage staying until at least 17th birthday — 2025
80.9%
| Avonside Girls' High School | 80.9% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 83.6% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 83.5% |
| State: Not integrated | 81.4% |
| New Zealand | 83% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 80.9% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not applicable |
| Māori | 80.4% |
| Pacific | 87.5% |
| Asian | 100% |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Too few to report |
| European/Pākehā | 80.8% |
| Total | 80.9% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison trend data (2023-2025)
— 2024
not reported
| Female | not reported |
|---|---|
| Male | not reported |
| Māori | not reported |
| Pacific | not reported |
| Asian | not reported |
| MELAA | not reported |
| Other | not reported |
| European/Pākehā | not reported |
| Total | not reported |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 1: School leavers enrolled in tertiary education one year after leaving school (2022-2024 leaver cohorts)
— 2023
not reported
| Female | not reported |
|---|---|
| Male | not reported |
| Māori | not reported |
| Pacific | not reported |
| Asian | not reported |
| MELAA | not reported |
| Other | not reported |
| European/Pākehā | not reported |
| Total | not reported |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: School leavers enrolled in tertiary education two years after leaving school (2021-2023 leaver cohorts)
— 2024
not reported
| Female | not reported |
|---|---|
| Male | not reported |
| Māori | not reported |
| Pacific | not reported |
| Asian | not reported |
| MELAA | not reported |
| Other | not reported |
| European/Pākehā | not reported |
| Total | not reported |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 1: School leavers enrolled in tertiary education one year after leaving school (2022-2024 leaver cohorts)
— 2023
not reported
| Female | not reported |
|---|---|
| Male | not reported |
| Māori | not reported |
| Pacific | not reported |
| Asian | not reported |
| MELAA | not reported |
| Other | not reported |
| European/Pākehā | not reported |
| Total | not reported |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: School leavers enrolled in tertiary education two years after leaving school (2021-2023 leaver cohorts)
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
57.5%
| Avonside Girls' High School | 57.5% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 38.3% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 35.8% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 57.7% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Māori | 96.1% |
| Pacific | 55.2% |
| Asian | 11.8% |
| Other | 97.4% |
| European/Pākehā | 60.9% |
| Total | 57.5% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison stand-down rates data (2024)
Age-standardised suspension rate per 1,000 students — 2024
8.4%
| Avonside Girls' High School | 8.4% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 3.7% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 4% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 8.4% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Māori | 19.9% |
| Pacific | 10.1% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 7.6% |
| Total | 8.4% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison suspension rates data (2024)
Age-standardised exclusion rate per 1,000 students — 2024
1.1%
| Avonside Girls' High School | 1.1% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 1.7% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 1.7% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 1.1% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 1.3% |
| Total | 1.1% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison exclusion data (2024)
About the school
- Equity Index (EQI)
- 472
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Major urban area
- Date opened
- 30 November 1927
The Equity Index is used by the Ministry to allocate equity funding. It describes the socio-economic barriers a school’s students face, not how good the school is. How the Equity Index works
What did ERO find?
The Education Review Office reviews every school and publishes what it finds in full. We quote ERO’s report here, section by section, in ERO’s own words and order, and link to it. We do not summarise a report, pick a line out of one, or turn one into a score. How ERO reviews schools
- Reports ERO holds
- 5
- Last reviewed
- 3 November 2023
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (3 November 2023)
A board assurance statement is the board’s own account of whether it took all reasonable steps to meet its legal obligations, on the date shown. It is not ERO’s finding. ERO reports separately, in the same report, on any non-compliance it identified during that process.
The same report — the board assurance report of 3 November 2023 — also sets out actions for compliance: the non-compliance ERO identified during that process. This is that section of the report in full, in ERO’s words.
ERO has identified the following area of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
the school needs to check a primary identity document and a secondary identity document, required for safety checking of workforce [Children’s Act 2014].
The board has since taken steps to address the area of non-compliance identified.
What this report states about the school
As stated in ERO’s report of 3 November 2023 — not necessarily the position now. Each line quotes the sentence it came from.
- Also provides
- Ferndale satellite school
a Ferndale satellite school on the Ōrua Paeroa site
- Ferndale satellite school
The roll ERO recorded, and when
ERO writes a roll into each report it publishes: a count taken for that report, on the day shown, by the review team that was there. The Ministry of Education’s current roll for this school is 1089 — the figure at the top of this page, and the one to use for how big the school is now. These are a different measurement by a different body, so they will rarely agree, and a difference between them is not a change in the school.
August 2017
846
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 28 February 2018
September 2013
855
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 22 November 2013
We draw no line between these. Each was counted for its own report, years apart, by a different review team, and a roll moves between reviews for reasons none of these figures record — so the difference between any two of them measures nothing.
What ERO wrote in its latest report
This is ERO’s report of 3 November 2023 — “Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.
Background
This Profile Report was written within 7 months of the Education Review Office and Avonside Girls’ High School working in Te Ara Huarau , an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz
Context
Avonside Girls’ High School | Te kura kōhine o Ōtakaro is located in Christchurch and provides education for wahine from Years 9 to 13. The school’s vision is ko Hine-Titama koe nānā i puta ki te whai ao ki tea o mārama | educating and empowering young women to achieve now and in the future. Learning is guided by the values of kia tū, kia manaaki, kia māia, kia manawanui, kia rangatira .
Avonside Girls’ High School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:
develop curriculum and assessment programmes to ensure increased ākonga engagement and achievement and improve learning outcomes for all ākonga
increase ākonga engagement and wellbeing through a relational focused restorative culture and mentoring
build staff capability to collect, track and use data to raise achievement, engagement, and inform differentiated pedagogy.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Avonside Girls’ High School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the impact on ākonga achievement, engagement, and wellbeing as it develops the year 9 and 10 curriculum with focus on relational culture and high academic aspirations.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is that the school is
developing a knowledge-rich, sequential, and connected curriculum that strengthens student engagement and empowers ākonga to aim for personal excellence
ocusing on the improved use of data to inform next steps for learning
working to better differentiate teaching practices in flexible learning environments.
The school expects to see:
an established and recorded knowledge-rich Years 9 and 10 curriculum
junior ākonga that can articulate their progress and set their own learning goals
improvement in Years 9 and 10 ākonga achievement and engagement in learning.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate the impact on ākonga achievement, engagement, and wellbeing as it develops the Years 9 and 10 curriculum with focus on relational culture and high academic aspirations:
the leadership team has been engaging in professional learning to inform this work
the Board has strategically resourced staff to lead and evaluate curriculum and pedagogical development
an established process for self-review identifies barriers and issues and works to remove them
Years 9 and 10 ākonga select their own interest-based classes. Each class is overseen by a community of teachers who monitor ākonga progress and support their wellbeing and pathways.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
targeted professional learning for teachers to strengthen curriculum design and teaching practices
developing a student-facing vision for learning which informs curriculum development
strengthening effective teaching for differentiated classrooms to respond to each learner’s needs.
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Shelley Booysen Director of Schools
3 November 2023
About the School
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Avonside Girls’ High School is co-located with Shirley Boys’ High School and a Ferndale satellite school on the Ōrua Paeroa site.
Read the full report on ero.govt.nz →
All 5 reports ERO holds for this school
ERO reviews a school every few years — around four years between reviews is the usual cycle — so an older date here reflects where a school sits in that cycle, not how it is doing.
Source: Education Review Office, CC BY 4.0.
Roll date: 30 June 2026 (2026).