Broken paths, windows that do not shut or open, cold classrooms and scruffy carpet - after 10 years of making do with a broken school Banks Avenue Primary students in Christchurch has finally moved into shiny new digs.
Year Six students Hazel Bourne and Oscar Black are looking forward to a warm school at the new site. Photo: Rachel Graham/RNZ
After the Canterbury earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 Banks Avenue school has been through the wringer, first of all told it was to close, then to changed to a rebuild which was supposed to be finished by 2017.
Five years later it is finally there, and today the children had their first day at the new school.
Year six student Hazel Bourne had some pretty simple hopes for her new school.
"Probably that there is no graffiti on the side of the buildings, and the classrooms are warmer. And that we have new playgrounds with no bits of wood sticking out, to trip us over. Just clean classrooms."
Year six student Oscar Black was also excited to get into the new buildings.
He was looking forward to warmer classrooms and a bigger site.
"We've got so many kids. It was really cramped up at the old site."
Principal Toni Burnside said the students had put up with a lot over the last few years.
"You walk outside and you trip over the concrete or the tree roots," she said.
"The windows you have the wind whistling through even when they're not open. There are holes in carpet, and patches everywhere, where we've tried to patch it. The heating break down, a different class will go every year. Because we haven't invested any money in it for 10 years, so the infrastructure of the school, which was damaged anyway, has become way way worse."
She said the students however did not know anything else, so had just got on and dealt with the situation they were facing.
School board chairperson Kirk McKay had four children who are or were at the school. He has been on the board since 2014.
He said it had been a hard slog, and today was be a mix of happiness and relief.
"What we are doing here will last the next 50 odd years. So even though there has been a lot of extra work, its worth hauling yourself across the line to do that."
Banks Avenue School will now be known as Pareawa Banks Avenue School at its new site, which is about a 10-minute walk from the old site and further away from the Avon River and Dudley Stream.
Pareawa Banks Avenue School principal, Toni Burnside, says it's a huge relief to be finally out of their broken school. Photo: Rachel Graham/RNZ
The new site was home to Shirley Boys High School, which was also earthquake damaged and rebuilt in North Brighton.
Burnside said the school had been reassured that while a school for 1200 students could not be rebuilt on the site, the land was fine for a school only half that size.
"Many parts of the land are still compromised. If you look at our field that is under water at the moment because it is not draining away.
"So I don't think you could have built out on that part out there. so that's been a big part of our delay."
Today the school also needed to make use of portaloos on site, due to heavy rain yesterday causing problems with the drains.
Minister of Education Chris Hipkins officially opened the school today, including unveiling a plaque with the help of the oldest pupil, Bjorn Atkinson and the youngest, Kenzie White.
He noted that many of the students at the school were not even born when Christchurch was hit by the earthquakes, and that the Christchurch School Rebuild Programme was almost finished.
