Rangi Ruru Girls' School

Rangi Ruru Girls' School
Te Koraha, the administration building of Rangi Ruru Whaia to te rangi ("Seek the heavenly things")
Address
59 Hewitts Road, Merivale, Christchurch
Coordinates	43°31′09″S 172°37′03″E / 43.5192°S 172.6175°E / -43.5192; 172.6175Coordinates: 43°31′09″S 172°37′03″E / 43.5192°S 172.6175°E / -43.5192; 172.6175
Information
Type	Independent Single sex girls Intermediate and Secondary (Year 7-13)school with boarding facilities (Boarding from Year 9)
Established	1889
Ministry of Education Institution no.	325
Principal	Julie Moor
School roll	613[1] (March 2015)
Socio-economic decile	10
Website	rangiruru.school.nz (requires plugin)

Rangi Ruru Girls' School is a private girls' day and boarding secondary school located in Merivale, an inner suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. The school is affiliated to the Presbyterian Church, and serves approximately 613 girls from Years 7 to 13 (ages 10 to 18).

History

St Andrew's Church at Rangi Ruru

The school was founded in 1889 by two sisters, Helen and Alice Gibson, and administered by them for nearly 60 years. The Rangi Ruru Board of Governors was established in 1946 when Presbyterian Church members purchased the school. While the Christchurch Presbytery approves appointments, the board is autonomous.

Rangi Ruru, the name of the school, was suggested by a Māori chief of Rapaki Pa, Paora Taki. It is translated "wide sky shelter" and indicates that the school stands for hospitality and generosity.

Academic achievement

Rangi Ruru is consistently one of New Zealand's highest-achieving schools in academic achievement^[2]

In 2013, 100 percent of girls leaving Rangi Ruru held at least NCEA Level 1, 98.2 percent held at least NCEA Level 2, and 92.0 percent held at least University Entrance. This is compared to 86.8%, 77.2%, and 55.4% respectively for girls nationally.^[3]

Academic scholarships

Each year about 3 per cent of Year 13 students studying each subject at level 3 will get Scholarship. In 2009 Rangi Ruru scholarship girls’ achieved a total of 62 Scholarships in 18 subjects by 38 students, including 14 with Outstanding Performance. In 2008, Rangi girls achieved a total of 41 Scholarships, including five with Outstanding Performance, in 14 subjects by 31 students. In 2007, Rangi girls achieved an impressive 51 Scholarship awards with nearly 44% of successful scholarship entries.^[4]

Athletics

Rangi girls are highly active in over 40 sport codes and the school is recognised for its sporting achievements. It is regularly one of the top performing schools at rowing's Maadi Cup having won the Dawn Cup for overall achievement on a number of occasions. The school has a very high sports participation rate (consistently over 95% per annum), and a large number of girls who are high performance athletes, representing the region or country in their sports code.

Culture

Rangi Ruru has an excellent reputation for the cultural and creative opportunities it offers students and the achievement of students in this area. Both while at school and for those who pursue their creative interests through tertiary and career. The school's Visual Arts Faculty is held in particularly high regard and is notable for the number of students achieving NZ Scholarships. In 2004, Rangi Ruru was the first school in New Zealand to perform the musical Les Misérables: School Edition in collaboration with Christ's College.

Notable alumnae

• Sophia Fenwick (born 1992), netball player^[5]
• Kenneth Macfarlane Gresson (1891–1974), soldier, lawyer, university lecturer and judge. Attended before this became a girls' school.^[6]
• Eve Macfarlane, rower^[7]
• Elizabeth Manu (born 1986), netball player
• Annabel Ritchie (born 1978), lawyer and rower

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rangi Ruru.