In light of the current situation with COVID-19, Burnside High School decided to cancel Open Evening 2020 which was due to take place on Tuesday 12 May.

 At Open Evening we showcase our school to the community, with students and staff sharing what we stand for, what we believe in, what makes Te Kura o Waimairi-iri Burnside High School special, and why we are proud to be part of this learning community.
In the absence of this event, please refer to the website www.burnside.school.nz where you will find comprehensive information on curriculum, extra-curricula opportunities, our Student Support systems, and much more. Our Prospectus, Enrolment Forms and Information are also available on our website. Printed copies can be posted or collected from our main reception once school resumes onsite. 

Our School

The Burnside High School ethos is expressed in our vision, mission and values. We provide an excellent learning environment that makes a positive difference to people’s lives. We pride ourselves on being a successful school that is highly regarded in the community for its high-quality, values-based learning and specialist facilities. We are a larger school with a community feel, offering a wide range of opportunities in a safe, friendly atmosphere, and with high standards and expectations of ourselves and our students. We base our culture on a vision of personal excellence and caring for others. Our key values of Manaakitanga - being respectful, Mana - having pride, and Rangatiratanga - striving to excel, guides the way that students and staff act, feel, and think about themselves and about others.

Burnside High School has an outstanding reputation for its ability to ensure that students achieve very well. We do this through our focus on providing a high-quality, co-educational learning environment. We are delighted that, over the next few years, there will be a major redevelopment of our campus.

Our size and all the advantages that this brings is a point of difference and is what makes this decile 8, state, co-educational school special.

Here, in no particular order, are the seven significant features that make Burnside High School a leader of learning:

● We are a centre for academic excellence with an emphasis on high-quality teaching practices and outstanding achievement.

● We are co-educational and multi-cultural, reflecting the social reality of our nation and our world, and allowing young female and male student’s opportunities to develop learning relationships based on absolute and genuine respect and equality.

● Our roll of around 2,500 students enables us to provide an extensive, diverse and specialised curriculum that caters for and challenges students of all abilities.

● We provide an exceptionally wide range of co-curricular opportunities (music, drama, dance, clubs and sports) for students to enjoy, learn new skills, to make friends, take leadership roles, and achieve at a high level.

● We are a caring school where students are known and supported as individuals in a positive, inclusive and well-resourced learning environment.

● We value effective relationships with parents/whānau and the wider community to improve outcomes for students.

● We are innovative and responsive to the evolving nature of society through continuous and rigorous review and evaluation of our systems, practices and procedures.

Burnside High School, in partnership with whānau, has the proven ability to assist students develop the skills, attributes, and attitudes to make a success of their lives in the workplace, in the community, and as members of supportive and loving families. I believe in and am proud of Burnside High School; and feel privileged to be its principal.

Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei, ko Aoraki anake

Pursue excellence, and if you are to ever bow – let it only be to

a lofty mountain, Aoraki

Phil Holstein
Principal