Rāwhiti School officially opens in Christchurch

Students and staff in the new hall (Newshub)
Students and staff in the new hall (Newshub)

Rāwhiti School, in the Christchurch suburb of New Brighton, was officially opened today ahead of the five year anniversary of the Christchurch earthquakes.

Education Minister Hekia Parata was at the school this morning to honour the occasion.

The $13.6 million school is a merger of Central New Brighton, Freeville, and North New Brighton schools. It opened in January last year in the existing buildings on the Freeville and Central site.

The new buildings have been built on Leaver Terrace in north New Brighton and feature flexible learning studios and a multi-purpose hall, library, and community space.

"Rāwhiti School's innovative teaching spaces will support a wider range of effective teaching and learning approaches and contribute to the drive we're making to lift student achievement," Ms Parata says.

The official opening of the school (Newshub)

Rāwhiti's roll currently sits at just over 500 with the capacity for 600 students.

The Government is investing $1.137 billion renewing and restoring the greater Christchurch schooling network. This involves 115 school schools that are being rebuilt, repaired or remodelled by 2022.

"We're really pleased with the progress we've made in Christchurch and the way that the community have embraced the rebuild," says Ms Parata.

The New Brighton suburb was one of the hardest hit in the earthquakes and its recovery has been a long process.

The five year anniversary of the earthquake will be marked on February 22, when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the city in 2011.

Newshub.