Shirley Boys' High School

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Shirley Boys' High School is a single sex state secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated on a 6 hectare site in the suburb of Shirley, 3.8 kilometres from the city centre, but in 2018 will move, along with Avonside Girls' High School, to the former QEII Park site in the east of Christchurch.The school has over 60 classrooms plus a hall, a gymnasium and a megacentre which was completed in April 2016. This replaced the computer block which was bulldozed at the end of 2015 due to flooding issues after the 2011 quake. The school has over 70 teachers, two care-takers and seven OCS cleaners. There are 45 wheelie bins which are emptied daily by one of the evening cleaners. The school also runs a canteen and a uniform shop.The school colours are sky blue and gold.Brief historyParents in the eastern and northern suburbs of Christchurch had wanted single-sex education for their sons. In 1957, this finally became available when the school opened under its first Headmaster, Charles Gallagher.Established on a swampy paddock formerly used for grazing horses to the west of North Parade, the School grew rapidly. Within a few years it became a self-confessed and proud rival to Christchurch Boys' High School as well as to St. Andrew's and St Bede's College.A detailed satirical portrait of the school as it was in the late 1960s can be found in The Shining City, a novel by former student Stevan Eldred-GriggOn the Easter weekend (April) of 2007, Shirley Boys' High School celebrated its 50th Jubilee. Commemorative events included an Old Boys' XV playing the current 2nd XV and the 1st XV playing in historic uniform against St. Andrew's College; as well as a golf tournament, formal black-tie dinner, staff luncheon and 'meet-and-greet evening'.