Christ's College, Christchurch

Christ's College, a private Anglican secondary day and boarding school for boys, was founded in 1850 by Reverend Henry Jacobs in Lyttelton as a school for early settlers. It's the oldest independent school in New Zealand, and it's located right here in the city centre of Christchurch.

The school was originally established as Christ's College Grammar School in 1850 and was modeled on English public schools like Eton College. It was probably named Christ's College by James FitzGerald, Canterbury's first Superintendent, after his old college at Cambridge. When it first started, the school operated out of two rooms in the immigration barracks in Lyttelton. The curriculum focused on a classical education, including Greek and Latin, alongside modern languages, mathematics, English, history, and geography. Students were also expected to do scientific experiments, draw, and sing.

In 1852, the school left Lyttelton and moved over the hill to the St Michael's parsonage in Oxford Terrace with 16 students. The first headmaster, Henry Jacobs, made sure both boarders and day boys could attend. The college then moved to this present site in 1856 with 35 pupils and a staff of three. This location, next to the Government Domain, gave the college space to grow, and they started adding more buildings. The first ones were wooden, providing homes for staff and boarders.

By 1863, the first stone building, Big School, was built on the west side of the quadrangle. All classes were taught there. Today, it's the school's library and is the oldest educational building still in use in New Zealand. The Chapel followed in 1867. The school grew around this central quadrangle, and students aren't allowed to walk on it, only staff and permitted visitors. The school motto is "Bene Tradita, Bene Servanda," which means "good traditions, well maintained."

The original plan for central Christchurch, known as the Black Map from 1850, actually envisioned Christ's College and ChristChurch Cathedral being built next to each other in Cathedral Square, like Christ Church, Oxford. But the three acres set aside for the college in Cathedral Square wasn't enough. In 1853, a group including Henry Jacobs agreed on this site, which was then formalized in 1858. The college received 10 acres here. The campus has a mix of 19th and turn-of-the-century buildings, along with newer ones like the Old Boys Theatre and the Fine Arts Building. The dominant style is Neogothic, which was common for many notable colonial-period buildings in Christchurch. Big School, built in 1863, is one of the oldest surviving buildings of its type in New Zealand.

Christ's College was also instrumental in setting up Canterbury University in the early 1870s. The upper department of the college became a residential college of the university, later known as College House. In 1957, the upper and lower departments separated, and College House became independent.

Currently, Christ's College has about 698 students from Year 9 to Year 13. It's one of only three New Zealand schools that are international members of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, and also a member of Round Square, an international network of 230 schools in 50 countries. As a private school, tuition fees for New Zealand residents for 2025 are $34,190 per year, with an additional $22,250 for boarding. As of March 2026, the school has 708 students, with 46 identifying as Māori.