St Andrew's College

The College’s founder was Reverend Alexander Thompson, an exceptional orator, scholar, fundraiser and visionary, who served the British and Foreign Bible Society in New Zealand and Australia for 20 years and was instrumental in setting up the Flying Doctor Service. His driving ambition was to ‘educate the sons of the Presbyterian and Scottish community of Canterbury’, and due to his determination, St Andrew’s College opened its doors in Christchurch in 1917, with 19 boys and four teachers. In late 1917, the fledgling St Andrew’s College Board purchased ‘Strowan’ the magnificent property, which is still home to the College today. Its centrepiece, the gracious and fully restored Strowan House has overseen all the comings and goings at St Andrew’s over its long history and is a well loved and highly recognisable landmark on the College campus.

Scottish Presbyterian traditions remain at the heart of St Andrew’s, with the skirl of the pipes, twirl of the Highland dancers, the Ferguson tartan, St Andrew’s cross and Scottish thistle intrinsically woven into the fabric of College life. We celebrate our early visionaries at the annual Founders’ Day celebrations when we hold our own version of the Highland Games.

St Andrew’s College is a Christ-centred Presbyterian Church School. We embrace a rich heritage of historic Christian faith with roots in the Free Church Presbyterian tradition and as part of the wider Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ).

The Trinitarian theology of this tradition (2 Corinthians 13:14) informs, pervades and shapes the life of the school in a missional and pastoral manner, but with respect to those of other faiths or of no faith.We believe education must be holistic and embrace the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of students, as well as their academic and social growth, and development in sport and the arts.

Life is co-ed, so it makes sense for students to spend their formative years in a highly engaged co-educational learning environment as they prepare for their future beyond school in a diverse society.

St Andrew’s College is proud to be the only independent school in the South Island offering Pre-school to Year 13 education for both boys and girls.

The benefits of co-education have been recognised since ancient times, when the Greek philosopher, Plato, said co-education creates a feeling of comradeship. He advocated teaching of both males and females in the same institution without showing any discrimination in imparting education.

Collaboration in the classroom helps boys and girls to gain a fresh perspective from each other intellectually, develop socially, and become more confident in expressing their views in the presence of members of the opposite sex. Research shows that students in co-educational schools are often better prepared to succeed in post-secondary education and to enter the workforce. It fosters a positive self-image and helps to develop the confidence of our future leaders.

Our teachers understand the holistic nature of learning. It is cognitive, as well as emotional and social. We use current scientific research to inform our practice.Our students are taught by passionate, highly-skilled and responsive teachers, many of whom are recognised nationally and internationally in their areas of expertise.

All of our teachers work hard to create innovative and inspirational learning experiences. They are committed to teaching the College’s learning values alongside their subject areas, encouraging students’ creativity, the ability to think and question critically, to collaborate, to self manage and to contribute positively to the world in which they live.

St Andrew’s College values looking forward to the future and understand the skills student will need in order to succeed in an uncertain world. Confidence, creativity, and the ability to think critically are central to our philosophy.We have the agility, flexibility and innovations to ensure our staff and students are well equipped for the unprecedented rate of exponential change in digital technology.We have a purpose-built Innovation and Information Centre where students are encouraged to not just become fluent users of technology, but also skilled creators of digital innovations and inventions.

Students have access to modern fabrication equipment such as 3D printers, laser cutters and tools, and work on various coding applications and programs to write simple and complex programs, design games, and automate processes and procedures. We have active robotics teams in both the Preparatory and Secondary Schools. Outside mentors, with expertise in a wide range of areas including the Internet of Things (IoT) are brought in to support our Digital Technology programmes.

St Andrew’s College believes co-curricular activity is integral to a young person’s development. We offer an exceptional range of sporting, recreational, musical, and other performance opportunities to our students, ensuring they can discover their potential, explore their interests, express their talents, and strive for excellence in their activity of choice.