Cambridge High School is well positioned to accommodate roll growth through to at least 2030, says principal Greg Thornton.
The school is working through an infrastructure development plan signed off with the Ministry of Education last year.
Greg Thornton
Phase three – weather-tightening of R and D Block – has just been completed. Work began in term one.
“In terms of population pressure, for the first time since I’ve been here, we’re now actually able to house our students in classrooms without having to look at bringing on extra pre-fabs,” Thornton said.
The block is named after former school staff members Pat Rogers and Tilly de la Mare.
Its 15 classrooms have been retained, but two language rooms have been converted into science labs, funded by the school’s board.
Science faculty head Brooke Dillon said the extra labs would “help to give a much more hands-on experience” for students and provide a more collaborative workspace for teachers.
Thornton said the refurbishment work had stalled at points because of delays in obtaining ministry approval, but the ministry had been helpful by providing temporary science labs.
“R and D Block was leaking so badly, colleagues were using big bins to stop downpours of rain soaking through their computers and teaching resources,” he said.
“But when they lifted the lid on it, the structural damage wasn’t as bad as they’d thought, so they were able to finish ahead of schedule.”
The block was reopened on December 9 with a dawn blessing attended by about 40 people.
Cambridge High School’s new building, S Block, viewed from the front.
Thornton said the building had been given a facelift, making it look and feel “much more open and welcoming”.
The campus development plan launched with a weather-tightness upgrade on the school’s administration block, completed early last year.
Phase two was the construction of S Block, a 15-classroom building opened last December to replace a smaller, 11-classroom building of the same name.
The building’s completion date blew out from 2018 to 2023 as a result of challenges getting budget and design approval from the ministry, putting classroom space under serious strain.
This was compounded by roll growth – from 1432 students in 2013 to 1800 in 2024.
Twenty-one pre-fabricated classrooms on the Swayne Rd campus have been used to accommodate students while the development plan is being implemented.
Phase four, weather-proofing M Block, will launch next year.
“That’s likely to be a bit more dramatic because of the construction methods used in the building,” Thornton said.
He expected work to begin in late term three or early term four.
Phase five of the plan, which will help the school to comfortably accommodate a roll of 2300, is the construction of a 10-classroom block where the school’s tennis courts lie.
“It’s pretty exciting to have the momentum that we’ve got with the construction work, having support from the ministry to address a need that’s really obvious,” Thornton said.
(From left) Cambridge High School principal Greg Thornton, Board of Trustees presiding member Helen Martens, assistant principal Mike Cole and science faculty head Brooke Dillon outside R and D Block, which has just reopened after being weatherproofed and refurbished.
