page_title: Ao Tawhiti
section_title: Rebuild (2017 - 2019)
hierarchical_section_title: Ao Tawhiti / History / Rebuild (2017 - 2019)
caption_attribution_description: English: Ao Tawhiti building during construction on 177 St Asaph Street. Taken on Thursday, 28th February 2019, at 5:42PM.
context_page_description: Ao Tawhiti or Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery is a state area school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was established by the merging of two separate Christchurch inner city schools; the primary school Discovery and the secondary school Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti.
  The school is one of eleven schools running under the "Designated Special Character" criteria of the Education Act 1989.
  Students are given the flexibility to pick from a variety of interchangeable classes and subjects to design their own customized learning programme, including working on individual projects as an alternative to total classroom learning. They also have the option to learn subjects which are not traditionally taught in New Zealand secondary schools, such as philosophy, video game design, DJing and music production.
context_section_description: Plans for the school to the return to the Christchurch CBD by 2017 were delayed, in part due to difficulties in securing land. The school had hoped to rebuild on High Street on the site of the former Holiday Inn building, then owned by Carter Group, but negotiations fell through. A spokesperson for the school board described the setback as "devastating".
  On 24 August 2016, Nikki Kaye, Associate Minister of Education announced that the revised site for Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery was to be 177 St Asaph Street. Building work began in late 2017, and cost approximately thirty-million New Zealand dollars. In early 2019, the Ao Tawhiti had received strong interest as it neared the completion of its new building; applicants were placed in a ballot system due to high demand for places. The school planned to start with 570 students and increase to 670 by 2021. 
  Students and staff farewelled the Dovedale campus days before the first term of the year ended on 12 April 2019, marking the last day at the temporary site. The school reopened at the St Asaph street address on 29 April 2019, following the public school holiday, although students did not return until several days after.
caption: Ao Tawhiti building during construction, February 2019.
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