| Cathedral Grammar School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 2 Chester Street West, Christchurch, New Zealand |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Private, Co-educational, Primary |
| Motto | Latin: Semper fidelis ("Always Faithful") |
| Established | 1881 |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 368 |
| Acting Headmaster | Malcolm Long |
| School roll | 345 |
| Socio-economic decile | 10 |
| Website | cathedralgrammar.school.nz |
The Cathedral Grammar School is an independent, Anglican preparatory day school in Christchurch, New Zealand. The school is situated on a spacious inner-city site covering two blocks in the heart of Christchurch next to the Avon River and adjacent to Hagley Park, which it uses for its playing fields. It is in close proximity to Christ's College, the Canterbury Museum, the Christchurch Art Gallery and the Christchurch CBD.
The school, one of the oldest in New Zealand, was founded in 1881 to educate the choristers of Christchurch Cathedral, an objective which it is still fulfilling to this day. Cathedral Grammar is a member of the Choir Schools Association whose members include the ancient cathedral choirs of the United Kingdom - Westminster Abbey, King's College Cambridge, Magdalen College, St Paul's Cathedral to name but a few. It is one of only a small number of choir schools in the Southern Hemisphere, since Christchurch Cathedral is the only Anglican cathedral in New Zealand to have an English-style male-only Cathedral choir.
Almost immediately after its establishment, admission to the school was also opened to boys who were not choristers, and girls were accepted into the school from 1988.
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Unique amongst Christchurch schools as well as New Zealand primary schools, Cathedral Grammar provides single sex education to both boys and girls on the same grounds with the Girls' School opening in 1995.
The school is divided into four departments. The Pre-School is co-ed, taking boys and girls from ages three to four. The Junior School is also co-ed for pupils from Years 1-3 (ages five to seven). In the Preparatory School, a separate Girls' School and Boys' School provide largely single sex classes. Extension classes in Mathematics are the only co-ed classes at this level. The Boys' and Girls' School combine for chapel services, orchestra, assemblies, some sports events, operettas, social functions and share common playgrounds.
The Acting Headmaster is Mr Malcolm R. Long. He is supported by Heads of Department for each of the fours areas of the school. Class sizes are a maximum of 17 in Year 1, 20 in Years 2 & 3 and 24 in Years 4 - 8.
Pupils of the school generally achieve high academic standards in a curriculum which covers English, Mathematics, History & Geography, Science, Music, Art, Languages, Religious Education and Physical Education.
Pupils also achieve highly in the arts and in sport with the school being a dominant part of the cricket, hockey, rugby and tennis competitions.
A history of the school-'Jubilate-the Story of a Choir School'-was written in 2006 by the Rev. Canon Roger Couper, Headmaster 1984-2001, and published by the Cathedral Grammarians' Association to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the school.
A number of valuable choral scholarships are awarded every year to cathedral choristers. Further academic scholarships are awarded to the most academically able and/or musical applicants. These scholarships, including the Deamer scholarship (internal) and the Merton scholarship(external,are generally awarded at Years 5-8.