Key facts
- School number3518
- School typeContributing · Years 1–6
- AuthorityState
- GenderCo-Educational
- BoardingNo
- Language of instructionSome students taught in te reo Māori
- Established2 February 1873
About St Albans School
St Albans School is a state co-educational primary school located in the St Albans area of Christchurch. It has operated continuously since 1873, serving families in St Albans and surrounding areas.
The school describes its approach to learning as inquiry-based and co-constructed with students, with an emphasis on transferable skills and capabilities rather than rote memorisation. This is framed through a Local Curriculum.
The school offers both bilingual (Te Tikanga Rua Reo) and ESOL programmes, and organises students into learning groups called Kahui - Learning Hubs.
School donations
The Ministry of Education profile states that: "Donations may be requested".
With an Equity Index of 414, St Albans School is below the 432 threshold newly required to opt into the donations scheme, though a school already receiving this funding from an earlier year may continue to do so. Outside the scheme, a school can still ask families for donations, but cannot compel or enforce payment.
Check directly with the school for current charges, contributions or other costs. Learn more on the donations scheme or fees and charges at school, both on education.govt.nz.
Equity Index
The Ministry publishes this figure as a bare number — KuraData shows it against the directory-wide average, so you can see where St Albans School actually sits, not just the number on its own.
The Equity Index estimates the socio-economic barriers students face, on average, and is used to inform government funding and support. It is not a measure of school quality or academic performance.
Higher values indicate a higher level of estimated socio-economic barriers; lower values indicate fewer. Learn how the Equity Index is calculated →
Student ethnicity
The Ministry publishes this as a raw table — here it's visualised directly against St Albans School's own roll, so the shape of it is clear at a glance.
- European — 388 students (64.8%)
- Asian — 167 students (27.9%)
- Pacific — 23 students (3.8%)
- Māori — 91 students (15.2%)
- MELAA — 31 students (5.2%)
- Other — 3 students (0.5%)
Percentages may sum to more than 100% because students can identify with more than one ethnic group.
Education pathway
Nearby schools serving the next or previous year levels are shown as potential pathway options. They do not indicate formal enrolment pathways or actual student transfers.
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Catholic Cathedral College Secondary · Years 7–15 · 3.4 km
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Te Aratai College Secondary · Years 7–15 · 4.2 km
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Te Kura Tuarua o Horomaka Hillmorton High School Secondary · Years 7–15 · 6.4 km
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Marian College Secondary · Years 9–15 · 3.1 km
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Te Puna Wai o Waipapa - Hagley College Secondary · Years 9–15 · 3.3 km
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Riccarton High School Secondary · Years 9–15 · 6.3 km
Location
- Street address17 Sheppard Place
- SuburbSt Albans
- CityChristchurch
- Local authorityChristchurch City
Official contact details
- ContactAndrea Harnett
- Phone+64 3 355 9132
- Emailstalbans@stalbans.school.nz
- Websitewww.stalbans.school.nz
Nearby schools
Schools physically closest to St Albans School, regardless of year level.
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St Albans Catholic School (Christchurch) Contributing · Years 1–6 · 464 m
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Selwyn House School Full Primary · Years 1–8 · 1.3 km
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Paparoa Street School Contributing · Years 1–6 · 1.6 km
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St Mary's School (Christchurch) Full Primary · Years 1–8 · 1.7 km
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The Cathedral Grammar School Full Primary · Years 1–8 · 2.2 km
Explore schools in Christchurch
Browse Christchurch schools by type, including primary, intermediate, secondary, composite and other schools.
Enrolment
St Albans School operates under an enrolment scheme. Mainstream enrolments require the applicant to reside within the school's home zone. Enrolment is completed via an online enrolment form on the school's website.
Children holding or awaiting a Visitor Visa are not eligible to enrol at St Albans School or any New Zealand state school.
Out-of-zone enrolment
Out-of-zone places are limited. For 2027, the board has made available up to four Priority Two (sibling) places at New Entrant level, subject to in-zone demand. If applications exceed available places, a ballot is held. When a ballot is conducted, applicants are considered in the following order:
- Priority 1: Applicants accepted into a special programme run by the school
- Priority 2: Siblings of a current student
- Priority 3: Siblings of a former student
- Priority 4: Children of a former student
- Priority 5: Children of a board employee or board member
- Priority 6: All other applicants
If the number of applications does not exceed available places, all applicants are enrolled without a ballot.
Home zone
The home zone boundary begins at the intersection of Innes Road and Browns Road and is defined by the following streets and roads: Browns Road, St Albans Street, Abberley Crescent (including Kinleys Lane), Springfield Road (including Ranfurly Street, Abberfield Lane, and the section between Durham Street North and Bealey Avenue), Durham Street North, Caledonian Road, Purchas Street, Colombo Street, Sherborne Street, Madras Street, Canon Street, Barbadoes Street, Warrington Street, Flockton Street, Westminster Street, and Thames Street.
Curriculum
St Albans School's curriculum is organised around a localised and conceptual framework, finalised in 2023 in collaboration with students, staff, community members, and mana whenua Ngāi Tūāhuriri. Three core values — Kaitiakitanga, Manaakitanga, and Rangatiratanga — are embedded throughout. The curriculum incorporates the Te Whare Tapa Whā wellbeing model and emphasises place-based learning within the context of Ōtautahi (Christchurch).
Literacy is taught using the iDeaL Structured Literacy approach across the whole school, covering explicit instruction in handwriting, spelling, and reading with consistent language and sequencing. From 2025, Mathematics teaching has incorporated Rich Routines developed in partnership with the TLF team and Rob Proffit-White, alongside explicit skills instruction and problem-solving.
The school identifies the following curriculum areas:
- Literacy and Mathematics
- Health and Physical Education, including a fundamental movement skills programme, edible gardens, and Breakfast in Schools
- The Arts (drama, dance, music, and visual arts), supported by a part-time Arts Lead
- Te Reo Māori and tikanga
The school also offers Emerging Bilinguals (EB) and Te Tikanga Rua Reo programmes, as indicated by named sections on the school's learning pages.
Facilities
St Albans School includes the following named facility:
- Whare Pukapuka — a dedicated library space, with a catalogue accessible remotely via the AccessIt school library dashboard
Frequently asked
These aren't generic answers — each one is built directly from St Albans School's own official Ministry of Education data already shown on this page, so what you read here always matches the figures above.
Sources & methodology
Every fact on this page traces back to one of the rows below — official Ministry of Education data, or St Albans School's own published information, reviewed before publication. Nothing here is inferred or estimated beyond what its source actually states.
| Data | Source | Data period | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| School characteristics | Ministry of Education | — | 15 October 2026 |
| Student roll | Ministry of Education / Education Counts | September 2026 | 15 October 2026 |
| Equity Index | Education Counts | — | 15 October 2026 |
| Address & coordinates | Ministry of Education | — | 15 October 2026 |
| Contact details | NZ Schools Directory | Current | 15 October 2026 |
| Māori-medium immersion data | Māori Schools Directory, Ministry of Education | — | 6 September 2026 |
| School information (AI-curated, human-reviewed) | St Albans School's official website | Current | 3 October 2026 |