Middleton Grange School

State integrated composite(years 1-13) school

Middleton Grange School

Middleton Grange School in 2012

Address

30 Acacia Avenue
Upper Riccarton
Christchurch 8041
New Zealand

Coordinates| 43°32′13″S 172°34′34″E﻿ / ﻿43.5369°S 172.5760°E﻿ / -43.5369; 172.5760Coordinates: 43°32′13″S 172°34′34″E﻿ / ﻿43.5369°S 172.5760°E﻿ / -43.5369; 172.5760
Information
Type| State Integrated Composite(Years 1-13)
Motto| In thy light shall we see light
Established| 1964
Ministry of Education Institution no.| 335
Principal| Mike Vannoort
School roll| 1368[1] (February 2023)
Socio-economic decile| 9Q[2]
Website| middleton.school.nz

Middleton Grange School (abbreviated MGS) in Christchurch, New Zealand, is a state-integrated Christian co-educational Year 1 to 13 school. It's currently New Zealand's largest evangelical Christian school.

## History[edit]

Established in 1964 by the Christian Schools Trust, as an independent Christian school and became integrated into the state system in 1996.

Middleton Grange School belongs to the Christchurch Christian Schools Network (CSN) and the New Zealand Association for Christian Schools (NZACS).

The school premises used to house the Christchurch headquarters of the Maxim Institute, a conservative Christian thinktank. Bruce Logan was once Middleton Grange's former curriculum director.

In 2010, the school was ordered to apologise and compensate a former employee for firing him because of his homosexuality.[3]

In 2018, the school held a mufti day for a gold coin donation called 'dress as refugees' to support World Vision. The school asked students to dress as refuges in old ragged cloths. The former principal Richard Vanderpyl said that the mufti say was a good way to develop understanding and compassion is to experience a little bit of what it feels like to be poor. The school received two complaints from parents due to the mufti day.[4]

## Structure[edit]

Middleton Grange School's academic structure consists of four departments, Primary School, Middle School, Senior College and International College.

Primary School consists of students from years 1-6, Middle School consists of students from years 7-10 and Senior College consists of students from years 11-13

Primary School, Middle School and Senior College all have separate heads. The Head of Primary School is Rod Thompson, the Head of Middle School is Mike Barlow, and the Head of Senior College is Ruth Velluppillai.[5]

Years 7-13 all have Deans or Learning Team Leaders for each year. The current principal is Mike Vannoort.

## Academics[edit]

As a state-integrated school, Middleton Grange follows the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC). In Years 11 to 13, students complete the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), the main secondary school qualification in New Zealand

## Attendance[edit]

### Primary School[edit]

Each year group in the primary school approximately 48 pupils

Attendance of 1 July 2019[6] Year Group  | Attendance

|

1  | 46
2  | 39
3  | 48
4  | 55
5  | 46
6  | 55

### Middle School (Year 7 - 10)[edit]

Each year group has on average 124 pupils

Attendance of 1 July 2019[6] Year Group  | Attendance

|

7  | 110
8  | 108
9  | 127
10  | 133

### Senior College (Year 11 - 13)[edit]

Each year group has 197 pupils on average

Attendance of 1 July 2019[6] Year Group  | Attendance

|

11  | 208
12  | 192
13  | 179

In total, the school has 1346 pupils

## Houses[edit]

Pupils and teachers are divided into specific houses which then compete in (mostly) sporting and cultural activities. There are four of these, named after early British explorers of Antarctica, as Robert Falcon Scott stayed at Middleton Grange's original gentry house before embarking on his ill-fated expedition.

Middleton Grange House Names & their Colours  | Scott | Named after Robert Falcon Scott CVO (6 June 1868 – 29 March 1912), who was a British Royal Naval officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13.

|
|

| Wilson | Named after Dr Edward Adrian Wilson ("Uncle Bill") (23 July 1872 – 29 March 1912). He was a notable English polar explorer, physician, naturalist, painter and ornithologist.
| Shackleton | Named after Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton CVO OBE, (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922), an Anglo-Irish explorer who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
| Bowen | Named after Sir Charles Bowen (1830 - 12 December 1917). He was a prominent mountaineer and explorer of the Andes, and a Christchurch City Council member.

## Notable alumni[edit]

* Graham Capill \- Former leader, Christian Heritage, later convicted of pedophilic sexual offences.[7] Eldest son of Don Capill, First Middleton Grange Vice-Principal.
* Jeremy Kench \- Professional basketball player
* Richie Edwards \- Professional basketball player
* Olivia Podmore \- Professional racing cyclist
* William Stedman \- 2x bronze medal Paralympian
* Em-Haley Walker \- Singer
* Josiah Tualamali’i \- Health and social justice advocate

## Notable staff[edit]

* Vic Pollard (Former Associate Principal)
* Bruce Logan (Former Curriculum Director)

## References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Middleton Grange School.

1. ^ "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
2. ^ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
3. ^ "Gay coach sacked from Christian school". The Press. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
4. ^ "'Dress as refugees' day defended by school principal". Newshub. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
5. ^ "Senior Leadership". Middleton Grange School. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
6. ^ a b c Counts, Education. "Ministry of Education - Education Counts". www.educationcounts.govt.nz. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
7. ^ "Charges against Graham Capill allege decade of abuse". New Zealand Herald. 11 June 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2011.

## External links[edit]

* Education Review Office (ERO) reports

* v
* t
* e

Schools in Christchurch and Canterbury, New Zealand

State primary & intermediate|

* Breens Intermediate
* Chisnallwood Intermediate
* Christchurch East School
* Christchurch South Intermediate
* Cobham Intermediate
* Discovery 1 School
* Fendalton Open Air School
* Linwood North School
* Russley School
* Tamariki School

State secondary & composite|

* Akaroa Area School
* Amuri Area School
* Ao Tawhiti
* Ashburton College
* Avonside Girls' High School
* Burnside High School
* Cashmere High School
* Cheviot Area School
* Christchurch Boys' High School
* Christchurch Girls' High School
* Darfield High School
* Ellesmere College
* Geraldine High School
* Haeata Community Campus
* Hagley College
* Hillmorton High School
* Hornby High School
* Hurunui College
* Kaiapoi High School
* Kaikoura High School
* Lincoln High School
* Mackenzie College
* Mairehau High School
* Mount Hutt College
* Mountainview High School
* Opihi College
* Oxford Area School
* Papanui High School
* Rangiora High School
* Riccarton High School
* Rolleston College
* Shirley Boys' High School
* Te Aratai College
* Timaru Boys' High School
* Timaru Girls' High School
* Twizel Area School
* Waimate High School

State-integrated|

* Aidanfield Christian School
* Catholic Cathedral College
* Christchurch Adventist School
* Craighead Diocesan School
* Hillview Christian School
* Marian College
* Middleton Grange School
* Rangiora New Life School
* Rolleston Christian School
* Roncalli College
* Rudolf Steiner School
* St Bede's College
* St Thomas of Canterbury College
* Tamariki School
* Villa Maria College

Private|

* Cathedral Grammar School
* Christ's College
* Medbury School
* Rangi Ruru Girls' School
* St Andrew's College
* St Margaret's College
* St Michael's Church School

Special|

* Van Asch College

Defunct|

* Aorangi School
* Aranui High School
* Burwood School
* Christchurch West High School
* Christchurch Normal School
* Marylands School
* Phillipstown School

Authority control |

* ISNI

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template