St Mark's School (Christchurch), Opawa

Key facts

About St Mark's School (Christchurch)

St Mark's School is a state-integrated, co-educational full primary school in Christchurch, catering for students in Years 0–8 (ages 5 to 13). It has a maximum roll of 245 students and draws from across the wider Christchurch community.

The school operates as a special character school grounded in the Anglican tradition. Its association with the Anglican Church has been maintained since 1981, when it became independent from St Mark's Anglican Church. The school's stated purpose is to provide a balanced education addressing academic, cultural, physical, social, and spiritual needs within a Christian environment.

The school uses a three-stage learning journey framework drawn from Māori navigational imagery and the school's location beside the Ōpāwaho (Heathcote River):

• Mōkihi — Years 0–2
• Waka Pūhara — Years 3–5
• Waka Hourua — Years 6–8

The school's symbol is the Winged Lion, the traditional emblem of St Mark the Evangelist, attributed to him from the 5th century in Christian iconography.

Enrolment

St Mark's School (Christchurch) is a state integrated school operating under an enrolment scheme governed by the Education and Training Act 2020. The school's Special Character is Anglican Christian, and enrolment priority is determined primarily by the religious or philosophical connection of a child's parents or guardians to that character — not by the child's own beliefs.

Preference status

Before a place can be offered, the Board of Proprietors votes by majority to determine whether an applicant qualifies as a Preference Applicant. A Preference Applicant is one whose parents or guardians have established, to the Proprietor's satisfaction, a particular or general religious or philosophical connection with the school's Special Character. All Preference Applicants are given priority over Non-Preference Applicants. Non-Preference Applicants are considered only if places remain after all Preference Applicants have been enrolled and the total roll remains below the maximum set in the Integration Agreement.

Priority order

Within each preference category, places are assigned in the following order. Priority 1 covers Preference Applicants residing within the Area of Reasonable Convenience (defined as Christchurch City and Selwyn District); Priority 2 covers Preference Applicants residing outside that area; Priority 3 covers Non-Preference Applicants within the catchment. Within Priorities 1 and 2, sub-ordering is:

• Sibling of a current student
• Parent/caregiver who is a member of the St Mark's Anglican Parish (including licensed clergy)
• Parent/caregiver who is a member of the Anglican Diocese (including clergy licensed to an Anglican parish)
• Parent/caregiver who is a current staff member, School Board member, or Board of Proprietors representative
• Parent/caregiver or sibling who is a former student
• All other Preference Applicants in the relevant catchment category

Application process

Applications for New Entrants (children turning five) close on 31 August of the year before the intended start date. Applications for all other year levels are considered only when a vacancy arises, subject to class balance and projected roll numbers.

A completed application for admission must be accompanied by:

• A covering letter from the parents or guardians describing their understanding of and commitment to the school's Special Character and Christian values
• A supporting letter from an Anglican vicar or a leader of another Christian denomination confirming support for the application and evidence of worship attendance

Completed applications can be posted or emailed to the school at 33 Cholmondeley Ave, Ōpāwa, Christchurch 8023 or office@saintmarks.school.nz.

Curriculum

St Mark's School follows The New Zealand Curriculum, which organises learning into eight areas. The school teaches children from the early years through to Year 8, after which graduates move on to secondary schools — state, integrated, and independent — within the Canterbury region. No NCEA levels are offered.

The eight learning areas covered include:

• English — reading, writing, oral language, and visual language, with emphasis on vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, spelling, and cursive handwriting
• Mathematics and Statistics — patterns, relationships, quantities, space, data, and time, with regular testing and extension work for more able students
• Science — structured around the contextual strands of Nature of Science, Living World, Planet Earth and Beyond, Physical World, and Material World; senior students may undertake units from the Canterbury Science Teachers' Association Badge scheme
• Social Sciences — focused on how societies work and how people participate as citizens, drawing on contexts from within and beyond New Zealand