Columba College

School in Dunedin, New Zealand

Columba College

Address

399 Highgate, Dunedin

Coordinates| 45°51′47″S 170°29′40″E﻿ / ﻿45.863125°S 170.494375°E﻿ / -45.863125; 170.494375
Information
Type| State-integrated, Day & Boarding (secondary)
Motto| Latin: Gratia et Disciplina Bona
(With Grace and Good Discipline)
Established| 1915;[1] 110 years ago
Ministry of Education Institution no.| 386
Principal| Charissa Nicol (2022–present)
Years offered| 1–13
Gender| co-education primary (Year 1–6); single sex girls secondary (Year 7–13)
School roll| 586[2] (March 2025)
Socio-economic decile| 10Z[3]
Website| columbacollege.school.nz

Columba College is an integrated Presbyterian school in Roslyn, Dunedin, New Zealand. The roll is made up of pupils of all ages. The majority of pupils are in the girls' secondary, day and boarding school, but there is also a primary school for boys and girls in years 1–6.

## History

[edit]

Bishopscourt building, a Category I Historic Place

Columba College was established in 1915 by the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand as a private day and boarding school for girls with co-educational primary classes. The Rev'd Alexander Whyte was a key figure in the foundation of Columba College, through his vision for a Presbyterian girls' school.[1]

Columba College was created from two earlier Dunedin girls' schools, Girton College and Braemar House. Girton College had been founded in 1886 by the first woman graduate of the University of Otago, Caroline Freeman, who sold it to Frances Ross in 1891. Ross then purchased Braemar House and combined it with Girton College.

Frances Ross was appointed by the Presbytery of Dunedin as the first Head Mistress of the newly created Columba College in 1914. The schools moved to the current site at Bishopscourt, purchased from the first Anglican bishop for Otago and Southland, Bishop Nevill. The large house there had been designed by William Mason and built in 1872.

Whereas most church schools took a conservative view of girls' education, Columba built on the traditions of Girton College. High educational standards were set, while due attention was given to music, physical training, domestic science and, of course, religious instruction. The differing abilities and aspirations of the pupils were acknowledged and fostered. Ross expected a great deal from her girls and was not disappointed. Columba girls took prizes, scholarships and degrees at university and made their mark in a range of occupations.[4]

Grace Mackintosh was a Scottish-born teacher who became the principal in 1930. She appeared to be religious. She had difficulty in coping with the climate and the job. She suffered with arthritis and making routine decisions. She left after three years when she was appointed at the head of Presbyterian Ladies' College, Pymble.[5]

Columba College was integrated as a composite school under the terms of the Private Schools' Integration Act effective 31 January 1994.[6]

## Boarding facilities

[edit]

Attached to the school are boarding facilities, catering for approximately 110 students, both domestic and international from years 9 to 13. Students live in one of two on-campus buildings, Katharine Buchan House or Bishopscourt.

## Enrolment

[edit]

As a state-integrated school, Columba College charges compulsory attendance dues plus requests voluntary donations. For the 2025 school year, the attendance dues payable is $2,034 per year while the requested donation is $2,160 per year.[7]

As of March 2025, the school has a roll of 586 students, of which 47 (8.0%) identify as Māori.[2]

As of 2025, the school has an Equity Index of 392,[8] placing it amongst schools whose students have fewest socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 9 and 10 under the former socio-economic decile system).[9]

## Notable alumnae

[edit]

Main category: People educated at Columba College

* Frances Hodgkins – artist, at Braemar House[citation needed]
* Cilla McQueen – poet[10]
* Greta Stevenson – botanist[11]

## Notable staff

[edit]

* Irene McInnes \- New Zealand netball administrator
* Frances Ross – New Zealand school principal

## See also

[edit]

* List of schools in New Zealand

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "The Columba Story". Columba College. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
2. ^ a b "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
3. ^ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
4. ^ Ross, Angus. "Frances Jane Ross". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
5. ^ Sherington, G. E., "Grace Mackintosh (1890–1954)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 7 January 2024
6. ^ "Integration agreements for state integrated schools: C to E". Education in New Zealand. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
7. ^ "Admissions". Columba College. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
8. ^ "New Zealand Equity Index". New Zealand Ministry of Education.
9. ^ "School Equity Index Bands and Groups". www.educationcounts.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
10. ^ "New Zealand Book Council". 13 March 2016. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
11. ^ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Stevenson, Greta Barbara". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 December 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Columba College

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