About

AD LUCEM: Toward the Light

In July 1883 plans were submitted to the Board of Governors for a school for girls in Napier. The Board advertised for a lady principal who would be required to teach and take charge of the Boarding establishment. Miss M.E. Hewett was appointed, and the school opened on January 29, 1884. Thirty- nine pupils were on the books that first day, and one boarder was enrolled.

In those early days, the Napier Boys' High School was also in Clyde Road, on the northern side. When the boys moved to their present site in 1926, the girls' school acquired their former area. Napier Girls' and Boys' High Schools still combine for several activities, such as hostel activities, dramatic productions and socials.

The original school building had classrooms on the ground floor, and rooms for the boarders upstairs. It stood where the main hostel building, Hewett House, is now. It was badly damaged in the 1931 earthquake, and had to be demolished. The main building of the present school, named Spencer Building after Miss A.E.J. Spencer, the school's third principal, stands in what was the original playing area of the first school.

With changes in education, and an increase in roll, rebuilding has taken place, with the addition of the McCarthy building (Science), Arthur House (Music and Drama), and the R. James gymnasium. The Walker technology building of 2001, the Hague building of 2006 and the historic Spencer building have won regional and national design awards. Beautiful landscaping completes the school's much admired physical environment.

Today, Napier Girls' High School has a roll of approximately 900 students. An enrolment scheme was put in place in 1997, and the school is forced to turn away up to 100 prospective Year 9 students each year to prevent overcrowding.

The new entranceway to the hall will be completed in Term 2 2009. This will showcase the Rita Angus mural commissioned by the Principal Miss Naumann in 1960 to commemorate girls killed in the Napier 1931 earthquake. The earthquake had a big impact physically and emotionally on the people of Napier. Rita Angus was a significant New Zealand artist and this is her largest piece. It has inspired many generations of girls of the white and blue and in the new setting, will be a prominent feature.