Cathedral Grammar School

The Cathedral Grammar School is an independent school in the heart of Christchurch providing high quality education for pre-school, primary school and intermediate aged girls and boys. Supported and encouraged by a culture of nurturing, knowing and growing, our students advance on their educational journeys with a solid foundation of academic success and a well-rounded nature based on our Anglican character.

No other independent preparatory school in Christchurch has a history as rich or as long as ours. We are defined by our intrinsic relationship with the iconic ChristChurch Cathedral. Established as sister institutions together in 1881, our school’s original purpose was the training of boys for the Cathedral’s choir and preparing them for further education.

This tradition continues today with Cathedral Grammar being one of only two choir schools in the Southern Hemisphere, and the ChristChurch Cathedral Choir the only professional choir for boys in New Zealand. Being a part of this unique group provides them with a superb training in music with world-class directors and performers.

We believe a well-rounded character is just as important as academic success and people often comment about the charm, confidence and character of our students when they visit the school. This is a reflection of our dedication to the Anglican faith and our core Christian values of faith, hope and love. Our students see Christianity being lived every day in many ways, including our virtues programme and the school's values that infuse the curriculum.

Healthy pastoral care meets the wide variety of needs of the students to help sustain a loving, caring group of individuals who nurture and support one another. And it doesn’t stop there. Our Anglican character goes beyond the students with many considering the family-based community spirit a highlight of our school culture.

At Cathedral Grammar School we prepare students for the opportunities and challenges of the future, while maintaining our strong spiritual, cultural and academic traditions. Underpinned by the New Zealand Curriculum, we share a nationwide vision to grow ‘confident, connected, actively involved, lifelong learners’.

At the centre of our educational philosophy is the goal of nurturing ‘the whole child’. We provide opportunities for our students to flourish intellectually, creatively, emotionally, socially, physically, culturally and spiritually, with a clear focus on well-being and positive education.

Students achieve their academic potential through a strong emphasis on the essential skills of Literacy and Numeracy, which we believe are the foundation for successful academic achievement. With this fundamental focus in mind, we provide a challenging, innovative and balanced curriculum that is personalised, and is both content and concept-driven across subject and discipline areas.

We are committed to nurturing, knowing and growing our learners to be Engaged Thinkers, Enterprising Spirits and Moral Citizens. We provide the very best care for every child, every day; building relationships that are positive and make a lasting difference.

We invest heavily in information technology and e-learning tools as part of our commitment to preparing children for the future.
In Years 1-4, we support and enhance student learning using a variety of electronic tools. At Cathedral Grammar, we believe in having a balanced approach between the use of traditional tools of learning and modern devices; this helps students choose the best tool for the intended learning outcome.

Our Years 7-8 students have this year begun an exciting new technology programme which utilises our great location. All of our senior students participate across the year in a programme of both food technology and engineering at Ara Institute, hard materials at Christ's College and digital art here at The Cathedral Grammar School.

From Year 5, all students bring a laptop to school. Teachers give explicit instruction on how to use a variety of sources and applications to enhance all children’s ability to access information, critically examine and respond to it, and use digital tools as creators themselves.

Unique in New Zealand, our Preparatory School has separate Girls’ and Boys’ School campuses. Single sex classes offer the opportunity to target and deliver our curriculum in the most effective and interesting style possible while allowing the flexibility to bring classes together.

Our Girls’ Preparatory School is an environment where students are allowed to flourish with their preferred learning styles at the same time as developing a strong belief in themselves and their abilities.

In Years 4-6 at our Girls’ Preparatory Schools, class teachers teach the core classroom subjects, while specialist teachers take music, art, religious education, and physical education. Teachers emphasise developing each child to believe that through perseverance and hard work, he or she can set and achieve amazing goals.

Our tailor-made Mitre Programme is designed to prepare our senior students for life after Cathedral Grammar. The programme has been specifically created with a focus on personal development, leadership, and service, culminating in an annual overseas Year 8 service trip. Senior students learn to develop their leadership skills through authentic service opportunities; they undertake activities to support local, national, and international charity organisations, host events and work with central city businesses. Students also fulfil leadership roles including house and sports captains, mentor leaders, and through the class buddy system. These roles engender a sense of family throughout Cathedral Grammar.