Rangi Ruru Girls' School

Rangi Ruru Girls’ School was founded in 1889 by Miss Helen Gibson, and was administered by her and her sisters for nearly 60 years. The Gibson sisters; Mary, Beatrice, Helen, Alice, Lucy, Ethel, Ruth and Winifred all helped in some way with the running of the school.

In 1890 their father, Captain Frederick Gibson, built a large house with two schoolrooms on the corner of Webb Street. This was given the name Rangi Ruru, or ‘wide sky shelter’. In 1903 the school had 63 pupils. By the early 1920s the Webb Street house was proving too cramped, and the decision was made to move to larger premises. In August 1923 the remaining four sisters shifted their school, day pupils and eighteen boarders to Te Koraha – the large house and grounds formerly owned by the Rhodes family.

As a housewarming present, the old girls raised funds to furnish the entrance hall of the house as a personal gift to the Gibson sisters. The reunion held for the presentation led to the formation of the Rangi Ruru Old Girls’ Association and the first general meeting was held in December 1923.

Since 1946 when it was purchased by the Presbyterian Church, Rangi Ruru has been governed by a Board whose members are appointed by the Presbytery of Christchurch.Rangi Ruru, the name of the school, was suggested by an old Maori Chief of Rapaki Pa, Paora Taki. It is translated “wide sky shelter” and indicates that the school stands for hospitality and generosity.

Rangi Ruru’s campus has been designed around the needs of tomorrow’s women leaders, focused on personalised learning and grounded in best practice teaching and learning. These buildings include modern, airy classrooms as well as collaboration zones where girls work together to drive their own learning. Together with the latest technology girls are now connecting not only with each other but the wider community and the world around them for a truly global perspective to learning.

What makes Rangi Ruru stand out is that we put the person at the centre of a ‘personalised’ approach to learning. We do this by knowing and understanding each girl and focussing her learning needs to her individual interests, goals and abilities. We do this across all aspects of her learning, not just the academic focus but through her co-curricular activities as well.

A unique aspect of Rangi Ruru’s personalised approach to learning is the Personal Development Plan. The PDP is a portfolio developed by girls with their teachers to chart and reflect on their goals, strengths, development areas and achievements. Parents are encouraged to contribute as well.

Rangi Ruru girls foster and demonstrate a strong sense of community spirit, taking part in community service and fundraising activities throughout the year. Through strong relationships with the community girls at all year levels are encouraged to understand their role in the wider community and the difference they can make to others. The girls raise money through events and church collections for their selected charities.

Learning is made relevant and engaging through a wide range of experiences outside the classroom. Our rewarding and sometimes challenging Outdoor Education Programme beings at Year 7 offering experiences including rock climbing, abseiling, camping, river crossing, orienteering and kayaking.

Each year girls are given the opportunity to challenge themselves and learn about a different culture in a way that is not possible in the classroom. Rangi Ruru has several very popular reciprocal exchanges available to senior students including: Yokohama Jogakuin, Japan, King Edward VI School for Girls, England, UK, Annie Wright School, Seattle, USA, Pestalozzi School, Argentina, Unison World School, India, and Tahiti.

Rangi Ruru is Christchurch’s only girls’ school offering a true Year 7 to 13 experience, delivering a seamless curriculum by specialist teachers at all year levels.Rangi Ruru is consistently in the top 3% of New Zealand schools for academic achievement. In national and international competitions and examinations, a high proportion of students feature at the top of their chosen fields of endeavour. More than 95% of Rangi girls go on to further tertiary study in New Zealand and overseas, many gaining substantial scholarships as a result of their work at school.

Knowing each girl enables us to support her learning and hence the outcomes. Helping her find her learning passion and knowing that she will do better if she loves what she does means we can design learning opportunities to support her range of passions and individual strengths.

We have high expectations – we know all girls will succeed on their own terms; we aim for the best possible outcome that we believe they can achieve. At Rangi, we believe in NCEA because it is a level playing field and a true New Zealand qualification that is well understood offshore.

Starting your daughter at Rangi Ruru in Year 7 will ensure that she is future-ready, equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to be a powerful learner.The stability of remaining in the same school from Year 7 through to Year 13 means no extra adjustment period at Year 9. From Year 7 girls are challenged to be resilient and responsible in preparation for transition into the secondary school.