1984

A fire broke out in the old sports resource area of the school on Tuesday 27 November 1984, destroying the sports shed and part of the roof of which is now Room 7. The fire brigade was called at 4am, potentially saving the whole school from complete destruction. Remarkably, the school still opened that Tuesday, but the children in the one class that was most damaged got the day off!  Evidence showed the fire was deliberately lit using accelerant by an arsonist.

​

1992

A fire broke out in 1992, also believed to have been deliberately lit. This fire was much worse than the fire of 1984, destroying seven classrooms and the administration block. After the fire, there was some debate between the Board, who wanted the school rebuilt to its pre-fire size of eight teaching spaces, and the Ministry, which argued that the school's declining enrolment warranted a reduction in size. The Board won, and today the school still has its eight main teaching spaces, which are in full use today.

 

The school frequently reaches and exceeds its modern day capacity.  Well done to the Board of that time for ensuring the school's reconstruction to its original size.

 

The rebuild cost of $310,000 was funded in part by the Board, the Ministry of Education, the PTA, and various other committees. As a compromise from the Board to the Ministry of Education for agreeing to rebuild the school to its original size, the school was asked to relinquish its original library building at the front of the school to Chertsey School, which it did.

​

2011

During a school hall singing practice involving all children and teachers, an electrical fault caused a significant amount of smoke, leading to the evacuation of the hall. The electrical fault then ignited the stage curtains. Fortunately, the fire brigade had been promptly called and managed to swiftly extinguish the fire, saving any further damage to the hall.

 

On the positive side, the incident provided an authentic and rich writing context, resulting in an excellent scrapbook filled with written accounts from the children who witnessed the smoke, the fire brigade's response, and the ignited stage curtains. Regrettably, the scrapbook has since gone missing.