A brief history lesson – where did we come from?
As a school, we have a story of perseverance, of faithful service and of godly provision. We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us, and we see God’s faithful provision through the decades.
If you trace our history to its starting place, we emerged in 1996 as a private Christian school, Canterbury Christian College, with the Kings Christian School Trust as proprietor. This happened as multiple smaller Christian schools elected to eventually merge to make one school, the school we have today.
We acknowledge the founders, staff and community of Calvary Christian School, which became Kings Christian School. Calvary was birthed in February of 1982. It managed to secure a lease to use the old St Joseph’s boys’ home on a 4-hectare block of land at 2 Nash Road – our current site, which looked very different back then. The site was owned at the time by the Eliza White Trust and would eventually be purchased for the school after a court battle, the foresight of the leadership when the lease was confirmed and the provision of our God through the families of the school at the time.
Calvary School initially flourished as a private school but in time the costs became a problem, the fees went up and the school faced insolvency. In 1986 City New Life Church (Majestic House) took over the management of the school and inserted educational leadership as well. However, by 1990, once again the struggle of a small private school became apparent, costs were unmanageable, the roll dropped to 60 students and the church suggested shutting the school. Those who held a vision for what it could be, prevailed, a private trust was established, and the school was named Kings Christian School under the Kings Christian Schools Trust in 1991. Even with these changes, the roll continued to drop so that by 1995 there were just 35 students, and at that stage serious discussions were held with Avon Christian School regarding the possible merger of the two.
We also acknowledge the founders, staff and parent community of Avon Christian School which opened in February 1989. It was funded by parents, began with 84 students in years 1 to 11, and was situated in the Old Victory Memorial School in Springfield Road, St Albans on a property owned by a Pentecostal Church. This site had classrooms but very limited playground space. In 1992, the school moved to the old Jubilee Hospital site with the help of funds from a Roman Catholic businessman. Without a home of its own and no funding apart from parents Avon also struggled financially. It did manage to maintain a roll of approximately 100 students but after seven years of operating, it was decided that a merger with Kings Christian School was the only viable pathway forward- for both schools. Kings had a property and few students. Avon had students but no property. The schools merged in 1996 – Canterbury Christian College was born.
In 2026 we would like to acknowledge the founders, staff and the parent community of Canterbury Christian College and Aidanfield Christian School. Their vision and foresight as well as the commitment of many, mean that we have the schooling option we currently have at Aidanfield Christian School. The schools’ name changed in 2009 to reflect the position the school holds in the community that was developing around it. In 1996 the Aidanfield subdivision was not established. The school was surrounded by paddocks and farming. Over the years the city developed, and the school became surrounded by new housing. In 1999 the school integrated into the state system of schooling meaning that much of its funding was provided by the government and there was an expectation to meet state standards for education, governance and buildings. Through this time there were still issues with a range of functions to the point where, in 2006, the Ministry of Education suggested to the Board of Trustees at the time, the need to fix the school or close it. There were multiple issues with governance, management and finance. The Christian schools in Christchurch at the time, determined to do whatever they could collectively to avoid this, and in 2007, a new principal was introduced, new governance provided and new support to the proprietor was added. In 2009, the Board of Trustees decided a name change was appropriate, and Aidanfield Christian School took on life. At the time, there were 150 students. Since then, we have been approved every roll increase application we have made – not always as fast or as big as we have wanted – but always approved. We currently have 450 students and approval to grow to 550 by 2030. The school now has the Christian Schools Trust (CST) as its proprietor (its owner), which means we have the expertise and resources of the Trust that owns us, Middleton Grange, Rolleston Christian and Ashburton Christian schools.
When Canterbury Christian College was opened in 1996, its vision and mission was to “to provide quality education based on a biblical Christian worldview, enabling each child to fulfil their God-given destiny”. In 2026, our mission is the same. Our vision is biblical, relational and transformative as we provide excellent education based on a biblical Christian worldview in community.
We were almost shut by the Ministry of Education in the early 2000’s due to a falling role and questionable standards of operation. We were the catalyst for the other Christian schools around the city to begin to work together closely so as to support our struggling situation instead of competing. We have survived earthquakes, pandemics, and changing societal expectations and norms. We are focussed on being a place where our young ones can ‘grow in wisdom and stature so they can stand and be confident”.
