Christchurch Boys' High School

Christchurch Boys' High School, often referred to as CBHS, is a single sex state secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated on a 12-hectare (30-acre) site between the suburbs of Riccarton and Fendalton, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the west of central Christchurch. The school also provides boarding facilities for 130 boys in a residence called Adams House located about 500 metres (1,600 ft) to the east. The school's colours are deep blue and black with an occasional flash of gold. History Established in 1881, the prime purpose of Christchurch Boys' High School was to prepare students for enrolment into the then newly formed Canterbury College, now known as the University of Canterbury. Consequently, it was initially co-located with the College in downtown Christchurch, at the site of the modern-day Christchurch Arts Centre. As the university and school expanded, the school moved to its present location on Straven Road in 1926. The school's present site was originally a farm owned by Canterbury's pioneer settlers, the Deanses, and several buildings from the Deans' farm still stand on the grounds. The school's main building is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category I heritage building, with registration number 3658. The school has produced many All Blacks, with only Auckland Grammar School having produced more. The school can also lay claim to several famous cricketers. There is a unique ANZAC Day service each year that is compulsory for new students of the school to attend to commemorate the hundreds of Old Boys' that fought and died in the two World Wars. The school song 'Altiora Peto' has a third verse that is only heard on this day. In 2004 CBHS provided 2 of New Zealand's 'top scholars', one of only 3 schools to do so with the other two both girls-only schools in the Auckland region. The school's dramatic and musical productions have collaborated with those of its sister school, Christchurch Girls' High School. The College Match The College Match is a yearly rugby union game between Christchurch Boy's Highschool and Christ's College. The match started in 1892, with Christ's College winning 34–0. Since then, the match has become a significant calendar event for both schools. Boys High owns the title of the longest win streak, 2001–2016, and the most matches won, winning 86 times to 43, with only 9 draws. Enrolment As of March 2026, Christchurch Boys' High School has roll of 1,441 students, of whom 190 (13.2%) identify as Māori. As of 2026, the school has an Equity Index of 418, placing it amongst schools whose students have few socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 8 and 9 under the former socio-economic decile system). Notable alumni Arts Rewi Alley – writer, social reformer Brian Brake – photographer Allen Curnow – poet Alan Duff – writer Jason Gunn – radio and television personality Sir David Low – cartoonist Bill Sutton (1917–2000) – artist Marlon Williams – musician Niel Wright – poet and critic James Lucas – writer, film director Science Glenn Wilson – psychologist David J. Lockwood – physicist Robert McLachlan – mathematician Robert Pilgrim – entomologist Military James Burrows – army commander (also an All Black) Sir Leonard Monk Isitt – air force leader Sir Howard Kippenberger – WWII army commander Keith Thiele – WWII pilot Malcolm Calder – Chief of the Air Staff from 1958–1962 Public service Arthur Dobbs – Director-General of Education 1971–1975 Politics Bob Bell – former National MP for the Gisborne electorate Max Bradford – Minister of Defence 1998, former Chief Executive of National Party, Member of Parliament for Tarawera and Rotorua New Zealand Parliament Don Brash – Former leader of both the National Party, the ACT Party, and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. George Forbes – Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1930 to 1935, first leader of the National Party Bruce Jesson – left-wing activist Keith Locke – spokesperson on international affairs, defence and disarmament issues for the last decade (for NewLabour, the Alliance, and now the Green Party) Maui Pomare – Māori politician, doctor, reformer Tony Steel – former All Black, Headmaster of Hamilton Boys' High School and Member of Parliament David Caygill – former Minister of Finance (New Zealand) and Member of Parliament for St. Albans, in Christchurch (New Zealand). Christopher Luxon – Prime Minister of New Zealand since 2023 and former CEO of Air New Zealand and Unilever Canada Business Ian Athfield – architect Charles Luney – builder and company director Michael Mayell – entrepreneur, founder of Cookie Time Sport Christchurch Boys' High has one of the richest sporting alumni of any school in New Zealand, having produced the Hadlee brothers (cricket) and numerous All Black rugby footballers (46 in total) who have gone on to represent New Zealand with great distinction. Athletics David Ambler – sprinter Cricket Geoff Allott – New Zealand Cricket Team Corey Anderson – New Zealand Cricket Team Robert Anderson – New Zealand Cricket Team Todd Astle – New Zealand Cricket Team Chris Cairns – New Zealand Cricket Team Lee Germon – Captain New Zealand Cricket Team Dayle Hadlee – New Zealand Cricket Team Sir Richard Hadlee – New Zealand Cricket Team Walter Hadlee – New Zealand Cricket Team Blair Hartland – New Zealand Cricket Team Llorne Howell – New Zealand Cricket Team Tom Latham – New Zealand Cricket Team Chris Martin – New Zealand Cricket Team Neil Broom – New Zealand Cricket Team Alex Ross (cricketer) – Australian Cricket Team Cycling Anton Cooper – Commonwealth Games gold medallist 2014, silver medallist 2018 Daniel Whitehouse – road cyclist Football Ben Sigmund – Wellington Phoenix Football Team Futsal Atta Elayyan Hockey Nick Haig – Black Sticks, Olympian Andrew Hastie – Black Sticks Selwyn Maister – Black Sticks, Olympic gold medallist 1976 Barry Maister – Black Sticks, Olympic gold medallist 1976 John Christensen – Black Sticks, Olympic gold medallist 1976 Alan Patterson – NZ 3 times Olympian 1964, 1968, 1972. The last two as Captain Simon Yorston - Black Sticks, Olympian Lawn bowls Gary Lawson – Black Jacks Rowing Jack Lopas – Men's Double Sculls 2020 Olympics Alistair Bond – Men's Eight 2016 Olympics Rugby union Geoff Alley – All Black and National Librarian Marty Banks – Highlanders (rugby union) player Daniel Carter – All Black John Creighton – All Black Bob Deans – All Black Ash Dixon – Māori All Blacks captain Bob Duff – All Black captain, All Black coach and selector Ben Franks – All Black Owen Franks – All Black Daryl Gibson – All Black Scott Hamilton – All Black Steve Hansen – All Blacks coach, Wales coach Sir Graham Henry – All Blacks coach, Wales coach David Hewett – All Black Fabian Holland - All Black Andrew Horrell – Waikato Chiefs Howard Joseph – All Black Anton Lienert-Brown – All Black Richard Loe – All Black Aaron Mauger – All Black Nathan Mauger – All Black Fergie McCormick – All Black Neil McPhail – All Blacks coach (1961–1965) Andrew Mehrtens – All Black James Paterson – USA Eagle Brodie Retallick – All Black Luke Romano – All Black Colin Slade – All Black Matt Todd – All Black Adam Thomson – All Black Patrick Vincent – All Black captain Kosei Ono – Japan national rugby union team Tony Steel – All Black Nasi Manu – Tonga national rugby union team Rodney Ah You – Ireland national rugby union team Will Jordan – All Black Snowsports Jamie Prebble – Ski Cross silver medallist at the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships 2017, competed in Ski Cross at the 2018 Winter Olympics Carlos Garcia Knight – Competed in snowboard Slopestyle and Big Air at the 2018 Winter Olympics Speedway Ivan Mauger, OBE, MBE – Six time Speedway World Champion Squash Paul Coll – Current Squash World #1 MMA Brad Riddell (fighter) – UFC Lightweight See also High School Old Boys RFC References Notes Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6. External links Official Christchurch Boys' High School website Adams House Boarding Hostel Christchurch Boys' HS Rugby Club Official Website Education Review Office (ERO) reports