page_title: Ao Tawhiti
section_title: Post-earthquake
hierarchical_section_title: Ao Tawhiti / History / February 2011 Christchurch earthquake / Post-earthquake
caption_attribution_description: English: Unlimited campus at the University of Canterbury, June 2015.
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: Staff at Unlimited were presented with a Christchurch Earthquake Award in 2012 (one of 140 awarded to individuals and organisations nominated by the public) for the evacuation of hundreds of students from the city location, which was surrounded by damaged buildings and rubble, including the damaged façade of the Southern Star building itself. 
  Because the schools were situated in the central business district (in what became the "red zone", an area made inaccessible to the public during demolition works) and due to the importance of the city environment to the style of learning and the student community, students at Unlimited and Discovery were significantly displaced. Unlimited and Discovery 1 were relocated to the Halswell Residential College campus in Aidanfield. Unlimited remained there throughout 2011 and 2012, while Discovery 1 continued to operate from the site.
  In April 2011, singer-songwriter Imogen Heap visited Christchurch to play a benefit show for the school. It was her only performance in the country that year, and all proceeds went towards the future costs of rebuilding the school.
  In January 2013, Unlimited relocated to the premises of the former Christchurch Teachers' College in Parkstone Avenue, Ilam, which is now part of the University of Canterbury. They were located at the Wairarapa Block of the Dovedale Campus. The move was first announced in 2011 by John Mather (then director) who cited the lack of suitable spaces at the Halswell site. Mather retired from the role shortly after, where the school was then co-directed by deputy director Tanja Grzeta and Alastair Wells (formerly a senior lecturer at Auckland University).
caption: Temporary Unlimited campus at the University of Canterbury, June 2015.
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