Napier Girls' High School
Napier Girls' High School is a state secondary school on Clyde Road, Napier, New Zealand. It has a current school roll of over 1000.
| Napier Girls' High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
| |
Clyde Road Napier 4110 New Zealand | |
| Coordinates | 39.4857°S 176.9145°E |
| Information | |
| Type | State, Girls, Secondary with boarding facilities |
| Motto | Ad Lucem "Towards the Light" |
| Established | 1884 |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 217 |
| Principal | Mrs Dawn Ackroyd |
| School roll | 1043[1] (March 2020) |
| Socio-economic decile | 6N[2] |
| Website | www |
History
In July 1883 plans were submitted to the board of governors for a school for girls in Napier, and the following month the board advertised for a lady principal who would be required to teach English, Latin, French and Mathematics and take charge of the boarding establishment. Miss Mary Hewett was appointed, and the school opened on 29 January 1884. The original school course included English, French, Latin, German, Drawing, Singing and Calisthenics. Thirty-nine pupils were on the books that first day, and one boarder was enrolled.
The original school building had classrooms on the ground floor, and rooms for the boarders upstairs. It stood where the main hostel building, Hewett House, now stands. It was badly damaged in the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, and had to be demolished. The main building of the present school, named Spencer Building after Miss A.E.J. Spencer, the school's third principal, stands in what was the original playing area of the first school.
The school hall features a large painting by renowned New Zealand artist, Rita Angus.[3]
Hewett House provides accommodation for 160 girls, both five day and seven day stay. The girls sleep in double cubicles or dormitories and some have single rooms. Matthews House opened in 1988 and contains single cubicles for senior girls. The buildings on Napier's hill are ideally situated in one of the most attractive parts of the city. The girls live adjacent to the school and may use the school's sports facilities, library and computer suite.
Notable alumnae
- Mandy Boyd (attended c. 2005–09), lawn bowls player, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist (2014 Glasgow)[4]
- Jacquie Sturm (1927–2009), poet and writer of short stories[5]
Notable faculty
References
- "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- "Study for memorial mural, Napier Girls' High School". Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
- Johnson, Robert (14 June 2012). "Young bowler is queen of the green". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- Millar, Paul. "Sturm, Jacqueline Cecilia". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 6 November 2020.