New school for Wigram
A new $9 million primary school opening in Wigram aims to accommodate rapid population growth in southwest Christchurch.
Wigram Primary School staff, students and their families have celebrated the start of the 2019 school year at its new campus on The Runway in the Wigram Skies subdivision.
The former Sockburn School renamed itself Wigram Primary School last year, but had been operating from the old Sockburn School site on Springs Rd until today.
Principal Heather Walkinshaw said it was ‘‘a privilege’’ to see how excited families were when more than
1000 people toured the new facilities last week.
She said the school’s teachers and management – an extension of Sockburn
School’s – played a large role in its development ‘‘right from the very, very start’’.
‘‘We have moved on and been part of every step of the way, working with architects, working with designers, working with the Ministry [of Education].
‘‘Everything that has gone on here has been discussed with staff and decisions made around what it is that we wanted to have in our spaces for the children.’’
Designed by Artictectus and built by Southbase Construction, Wigram Primary School features an indoor sports court, open-plan classrooms sized for more than
100 children, and the original Sockburn School bell.
Its logo, two kãhu facing a runway, reflects the aviation history of its new suburb.
Wigram Primary has been relocated to align with population growth in southwest Christchurch.
Census data shows Wigram’s population grew by 49.5 per cent between 2006 and 2013, and the Christchurch City Council expects it will continue to be one of the city’s fastest-growing residential areas.
Wigram Primary School’s roll has grown steadily from 156 children in 2014 to
234 in 2018. The new campus has been built for 300 pupils, with plans to expand the year 1 to 6 school to accommodate a roll of
500 as its community grows. Another booming community, Halswell, will celebrate the opening of a new school this week.
Knights Stream School, an $11m development, opens for the first time tomorrow.
In 2017, the government fast-tracked the school’s opening date from 2022 to now to meet an expected population increase of more than 130 per cent over the next 20 years.