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School History

Interesting Fast Facts

The following list provides a summary of all the key facts mentioned on the previous School History pages.

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  • The school was built by Fletcher Construction and officially opened on 29 September 1959, although enrolments were accepted from 26 August 1959.

  • An anticipated starting roll of 145 resulted in an actual starting roll of 162.

  • The school was named Ashburton Netherby School to avoid confusion with Netherby School in the North Island and is named after the suburb in which it is located. 

  • The school was built with four classes but quickly increased to eight. 

  • Mr. Small was the first principal of Ashburton Netherby School and the longest serving principal in Ashburton at that time.

  • At its peak, the school had approximately 410 students and utilised three transportable classrooms on the back field to accommodate the enrolment.

  • The school pool was opened on 25 February 1960.

  • The school hall was built in 1965 by Bradfords Construction.

  • Miss G Bowyer became the first woman to be appointed as a principal in Ashburton when she took up the role at Ashburton Netherby School in 1976.

  • The school pool was decommissioned in 1993. 

  • The iconic school sign of the two pencils at the front of the school was installed in 1996. 

  • The motto designed in 1976 of “caring, sharing and learning together” still holds to this day, surviving close to 50 years of scrutiny and reviews from many principals.

  • The fencing on the road side and between the school ground and showgrounds was installed in 2003 for $50,000 to keep two special needs students safe. 

  • Ashburton Netherby School has been a pilot school for several ideas and interventions over the years.

  • Ashburton Netherby School was the pilot school for the well known Ashburton based Kai for Kids scheme in 2021.

  • Ashburton Netherby School has received many accolades and commendations over the years and still continues to be considered a high performing school through Education Review Office evaluations. 

Previous: Refurbishments  |  Start: Building the School

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