See all schools in Burnside, Christchurch
Burnside High School
High School · State · Christchurch
"I wish I knew about this website when I was about to choose School"
Lisa, parent
"Finally, one can access the opinions of other students completely transparently."
Fredrik, student
Get access to exclusive content, available only on SchoolParrot!
1 month
NZ$2.99
First month. Then NZ$4.99 / month
1 year
NZ$19
Best valueFirst year. Then NZ$39 / year.
For Schools and school staff
Do you work as a principal or school staff? Take control of your SchoolParrot profile. Click here
FAR from inclusive. They are liars.
Not the worst, but very substandard, over-whelming and far from inclusive. Only caters for the precocious and confident; if you're a social butterfly who is exceptional at sports, academics or maybe music, you're in for a treat (especially if you excel in the sports domain, they will bestow you with royalty treatment as you've camouflaged the fact that the school itself is very subpar). On the other hand, if you're reticent, reserved, one who likes to keep to themselves, have a learning disability, have a mental illness that hinders your well-being and self-esteem or if you're just not a star at anything, you'll be classified as a number/minority and the faculty will turn a blind eye to your needs. So much for "wE cArE aBoUt EvErYoNe!!!!!" Definitely other schools to consider.
anfair
This one PE teacher said that i was being bad at pe and ya want to know why its because it was nearly the end of school and i had to check the time and see if i had any important messages from my mum or any other family members and when i was checking she was being so sassy to me that she called me out for playing a game because apparently i was tapping the screen and she even admitted that she was being sassy saying it to other students in my class and then when the bell ring I was saying some thoughts out loud about her just my personal mind that i said out loud and she ears dropped and said are you talking about me and i was just standing there like what? then she was going on about how she doesn't Singley pick me to yell at By the way my friend was on his phone at one point and the teacher looked at him and didn't give him a bad time but my respond to the teacher was just ok because i don't want to complain and then she said why were you on your phone and i said i was just checking the time and looking at what i had tomorrow at school and she didn't even answer and then she was being sassy again saying Ill put you in dentation if i see you do that again even tho i was just checking the time when there was like 30 seconds of school left.
mediocre school
Honestly can’t believe they can even call themselves a good school, it’s honestly embarrassing how homophobic, racist and literally how disrespectful some of the student and sometimes the teachers here are. Especially the younger year levels, where is the management of these students behaviour after school? I’ve heard students cussing random people out, being downright racist and saying slurs to other students minding their own business or walking back home, and it’s disgusting. Not to mention some teachers at this school pick on new students that are shy, people are trying to go to school to learn they’re not trying to develop mental health issues. The classrooms and equipment are all old and run down, but the school still spends thousands on building new toilets and not renovating the run down classrooms. Classrooms are hot in the summer, and sometimes the heat pump would be on, in the winter the classrooms are so cold to the point where you can see your own breath. They care so much about school uniform and their image but how are some of these students getting away with their behaviour, terrorising everyone around them like they own the place?? I’m embarrassed that I ever considered that things would get better at this school.
Disappointing
The school isn’t good, it’s not as great as they promote it to be. Students here are disrespectful, they use incredibly foul and racist and homophobic language and it’s all very normalised. Students vape and smoke in the toilets and the teachers do nothing about it, they care so much about their image that the students have to spend so much money on uniform but they can’t even handle this situation because they think it’s a hassle to deal with. Not to mention not all the teachers here are nice, some pick on new students that are a little bit shy and think that it’ll be easy to intimidate them. The classrooms and most things in Burnside are all in poor condition, cold and damaged classrooms, peeling paint off walls and windows.
Student
Burnside is a great school with awesome opportunities, the teachers know what they're on about and actually want to teach. The extra curricular activities at Burnside range from drama club all the way to underwater hockey, so you can guarantee there is a place for everyone.
Thoughts on my old school
I didn't really like my time at this school because the students were rude I had my iPad broken by a bully and the school didn't do anything about it same with my friend the learning support was like being in year 1 again because that was all the work was like and they took me off the learning support after I passed a 1 with their help then the next year was a lot harder another problem I had was bussing the bus didn't stay at the school for very long and it made that hard for students who had PE last period because you weren't allowed to leave in your PE gear you had to get change fast to make it to the bus in time the students on the bus always misbehaved and made it miserable to bus
shittedt school
I told the school abt my suicidal issue and they did NOTHING!!! disgusting place i had to leave because of the way i was treated as i had a misbehaved older brother that all the teachers judged me off, and i did come in and have some mental health issues and the school just shamed me so much that it got to the point where i would not show up to school and then would cry about having to go to where the teachers didn't understand me
Burnside high school
I'm about to leave bhs after I graduate this year and from my 3 years of high school, it's been alright.
I absolutely hate the juniors because they get worse every year as most of them fool around, vape, smoke weed, or cause a ruckus outside classes that are in session. Of course, this isn't just limited to juniors but I do find it extremely disappointing that juniors want to vape etc. I had a girl in my math class in year 11 that did weed and she's been gone since. My advice is to stay away from stuff like this, it won't do you or anyone good and it's expensive. Save up for food or something.
I've been lucky to have quite good teachers up until now, so depending on the teacher you get it may or may not affect how you do in class. Even if you get a 'bad' teacher you've got to suck it up and focus on your work.
A new uniform has been introduced this year and it's too expensive. The socks for one are ugly, like why can't students keep wearing white socks?? I think the uniform isn't that good even if it makes you look a bit smart. It doesn't capture the original or real essence of bhs, at least not in my opinion.
As a senior, you get treated differently. In year 11 it's like a dip in the pool and in year 12 you have the expectation of knowing what to do. Being in year 13 you're given a little bit of freedom, such as wearing non-uniform clothing, self study periods, and leaving those study periods. For non-uniform the deans seem to he strict about what you wear, for one, you shouldn't wear anything ripped, too short, open toe, or anything that shows stomach. About the shoes, it's probably due to safety measures for when you're in a science classroom. The study periods that are 4th period allows students to go out for lunch as it then goes into lunch break. But, this means you have to be back for whatever class you have in 5th period. Attendance is really important in year 13 as you need a certain percentage to graduate the year. If you have 5th period study you can actually leave for home.
I absolutely love the biology teachers as they're so nice and good at teaching. The art teachers too, absolutely lovely. With art in year 13 you definitely get more freedom. You find artists to implement certain conventions to your theme rather than having to abide by an artist you don't choose.
I think bhs is better than rhs, it seems about accurate because I've got friends at rhs that complain a lot about classes etc there.
Find people that don't keep you from learning, instead you should find friends that support you etc. Ngl, I've always hated those groups of people who are loud and never really do work in class. I'd try to stay away from them, but if you can't and you feel really bad, you can talk to a teacher.
Bhs is not the best, but it's ok.
I absolutely hate the juniors because they get worse every year as most of them fool around, vape, smoke weed, or cause a ruckus outside classes that are in session. Of course, this isn't just limited to juniors but I do find it extremely disappointing that juniors want to vape etc. I had a girl in my math class in year 11 that did weed and she's been gone since. My advice is to stay away from stuff like this, it won't do you or anyone good and it's expensive. Save up for food or something.
I've been lucky to have quite good teachers up until now, so depending on the teacher you get it may or may not affect how you do in class. Even if you get a 'bad' teacher you've got to suck it up and focus on your work.
A new uniform has been introduced this year and it's too expensive. The socks for one are ugly, like why can't students keep wearing white socks?? I think the uniform isn't that good even if it makes you look a bit smart. It doesn't capture the original or real essence of bhs, at least not in my opinion.
As a senior, you get treated differently. In year 11 it's like a dip in the pool and in year 12 you have the expectation of knowing what to do. Being in year 13 you're given a little bit of freedom, such as wearing non-uniform clothing, self study periods, and leaving those study periods. For non-uniform the deans seem to he strict about what you wear, for one, you shouldn't wear anything ripped, too short, open toe, or anything that shows stomach. About the shoes, it's probably due to safety measures for when you're in a science classroom. The study periods that are 4th period allows students to go out for lunch as it then goes into lunch break. But, this means you have to be back for whatever class you have in 5th period. Attendance is really important in year 13 as you need a certain percentage to graduate the year. If you have 5th period study you can actually leave for home.
I absolutely love the biology teachers as they're so nice and good at teaching. The art teachers too, absolutely lovely. With art in year 13 you definitely get more freedom. You find artists to implement certain conventions to your theme rather than having to abide by an artist you don't choose.
I think bhs is better than rhs, it seems about accurate because I've got friends at rhs that complain a lot about classes etc there.
Find people that don't keep you from learning, instead you should find friends that support you etc. Ngl, I've always hated those groups of people who are loud and never really do work in class. I'd try to stay away from them, but if you can't and you feel really bad, you can talk to a teacher.
Bhs is not the best, but it's ok.
don’t recommend
I found the school okay, some teachers were really good and shared their passion with the subject however I had multiple situations of teachers telling me to kms or that i deserved to be dead. I told the dean and the principal but all they told me was that there was nothing they could do.
Not bad but not good
Left in 2022 after going to BHS for 5 years. Review is based off of my experience as a student who graduated and attended regularly.
- Some teachers are passionate about their students and their subjects, and do make learning a nice experience rather than a pain. From my experience, these teachers were mostly from the Social Studies/History/Classics, Chemistry, and Physics departments. Depending on your luck, in your important NCEA years, you can be taught by teachers who actually puts effort into giving you source material, explaining concepts and preparing you properly for exams (you have to be really lucky though).
- However, some teachers barely put effort into providing any information to help us learn really important concepts for our assignments and tests. This made it super frustrating when it came to completing internals as I had no idea if the work I was producing was even going to give me a good grade. When bringing up these issues with HODs (head of departments) or deans, I was mostly met with "I'll see what we can do" or "you should probably just talk to your teacher". And when results came back from these internals, basically little to no advice was given by these teachers to what I should have done better. If you're a student who is super smart and don't really need that much guidance from teachers, then you'll probably be fine with the minimal teaching from BHS, but if you're not, then too bad.
- Some teachers are way too biased in what they expect to see. For English especially, if you don't write exactly what your teacher that year wants, you will NEVER EVER get an Excellence grade. So many times, teachers will try to steer you in a specific plot and story point that they want to see, even if this goes against what the WRITER (YOU) want. I think this behaviour by teachers is super damaging particularly to younger students as it only harms their own creativity and puts them off from enjoying creative writing in the future.
- Library is pretty nice, and has nice librarians, student librarians, and a good selection of books. However during lunch times, the library can be overrun by year 9s who only play games and yell way too loud. The library is too small to separate the people who actually want to study from the people who are there to have fun. If there were more rooms dedicated to silent study or reading, it would have been nicer.
- Canteen was fine I guess, but the prices are way too expensive considering the food they sell is borderline ok. Some of the hot food were sold scorched and too dry to eat. Lines are also way too long.
- Form time is basically useless in later years and is a waste of time for students to get up early and sit on their phone while form teachers basically don't even know our names. I think BHS wants us to get along and socialise during these times, but mostly you're put in form classes with people who you don't share any classes with and are not your friends.
- The divisions are a concept to try and involve some healthy competition and camaraderie but honestly after Year 9 and 10, no one cares about divisional points, stickers, shout-outs etc. However the social events like Athletics day, swimming, any sort of competitions, are nice to attend.
- Formal events are overall not that bad. I did enjoy going to the BHS formals even though they could be improved (especially the Year 12 one). For a public school, I would say BHS doesn't have bad formals. However, the tickets are pricey and adding up the outfit, makeup, hair, etc. formals can be inaccessible for those who can't afford it.
- From personal experience, I didn't experience racism or sexism , but its definitely present. I think staff and most importantly the deans should do more to protect people who are hurt instead of ignoring or dismissing it. If you're shy, anti-social, or not that good at English, I think you are definitely more likely to be bullied with racism. Some teachers can't even pronounce non-white names and don't put in the effort to learn.
- The quality of facilities vary. In newer blocks, the labs are nicer but the equipment in all labs can be old and dirty. Some rooms get way too hot which makes it impossible to concentrate. Changing rooms are too small and get way too crowded when 6 classes have PE at the same time. This forces students to change in toilets or avoid changing at all. Stairs can get crowded and in peak times it basically becomes a stampede. The grounds have cracks, uneven bumps, trash everywhere, pot holes.
- On rainy days, students can only stay inside if they go to the library or their own form rooms. And as mentioned before, you're basically never placed in the same form class as your friends... So if you want to stay out from the rain inside a class, you can't, because who wants to go somewhere where they're not with their friends? I understand this rule is to stop random students from trashing the class, but it just leads to more students staying out in the rain or the hallways.
- I was part of the music department for most of my times at BHS. The junior performance programs were nice at my time, but I can't comment on the experience for year 9/10s now. If you are a talented musician, I would say that you would enjoy being part of chamber groups, bands, and choir, but my friends who were part of orchestra would not recommend it.
- From what I've heard from friends, the councillors are useless and don't help at all.
- Sick bay staff were kinda rude when I went a few years ago but I don't really know if its changed now.
- Student office staff are ok but can be dismissive and blunt at times.
- Too many vapeheads and weed smokers in the bathrooms
- Fire alarms are pulled and actual fires are lit surprisingly frequently, leading to hours of standing either in the blazing sun or in wet mud.
- If you are a top athlete, musician, or academic student, then BHS would definitely cherish you so that might brighten your time there. So I guess there's another positive :)
- No student parking at all, so students have to park on Memorial Ave or Greers Rd. Memorial ave can get really busy when school starts and ends so it can get dangerous for drivers and pedestrians.
- Careers advisors don't really help you if you want to go outside of NZ. They just give you random books for Auckland or Otago and that's it. So if you're aiming for USA or UK, you might get more help at private schools.
Basically, if you want to achieve high grades by attending a school that actually cares about the learning experience and their students, you should probably go to a private school or at least a public HS that is better than here.
- Some teachers are passionate about their students and their subjects, and do make learning a nice experience rather than a pain. From my experience, these teachers were mostly from the Social Studies/History/Classics, Chemistry, and Physics departments. Depending on your luck, in your important NCEA years, you can be taught by teachers who actually puts effort into giving you source material, explaining concepts and preparing you properly for exams (you have to be really lucky though).
- However, some teachers barely put effort into providing any information to help us learn really important concepts for our assignments and tests. This made it super frustrating when it came to completing internals as I had no idea if the work I was producing was even going to give me a good grade. When bringing up these issues with HODs (head of departments) or deans, I was mostly met with "I'll see what we can do" or "you should probably just talk to your teacher". And when results came back from these internals, basically little to no advice was given by these teachers to what I should have done better. If you're a student who is super smart and don't really need that much guidance from teachers, then you'll probably be fine with the minimal teaching from BHS, but if you're not, then too bad.
- Some teachers are way too biased in what they expect to see. For English especially, if you don't write exactly what your teacher that year wants, you will NEVER EVER get an Excellence grade. So many times, teachers will try to steer you in a specific plot and story point that they want to see, even if this goes against what the WRITER (YOU) want. I think this behaviour by teachers is super damaging particularly to younger students as it only harms their own creativity and puts them off from enjoying creative writing in the future.
- Library is pretty nice, and has nice librarians, student librarians, and a good selection of books. However during lunch times, the library can be overrun by year 9s who only play games and yell way too loud. The library is too small to separate the people who actually want to study from the people who are there to have fun. If there were more rooms dedicated to silent study or reading, it would have been nicer.
- Canteen was fine I guess, but the prices are way too expensive considering the food they sell is borderline ok. Some of the hot food were sold scorched and too dry to eat. Lines are also way too long.
- Form time is basically useless in later years and is a waste of time for students to get up early and sit on their phone while form teachers basically don't even know our names. I think BHS wants us to get along and socialise during these times, but mostly you're put in form classes with people who you don't share any classes with and are not your friends.
- The divisions are a concept to try and involve some healthy competition and camaraderie but honestly after Year 9 and 10, no one cares about divisional points, stickers, shout-outs etc. However the social events like Athletics day, swimming, any sort of competitions, are nice to attend.
- Formal events are overall not that bad. I did enjoy going to the BHS formals even though they could be improved (especially the Year 12 one). For a public school, I would say BHS doesn't have bad formals. However, the tickets are pricey and adding up the outfit, makeup, hair, etc. formals can be inaccessible for those who can't afford it.
- From personal experience, I didn't experience racism or sexism , but its definitely present. I think staff and most importantly the deans should do more to protect people who are hurt instead of ignoring or dismissing it. If you're shy, anti-social, or not that good at English, I think you are definitely more likely to be bullied with racism. Some teachers can't even pronounce non-white names and don't put in the effort to learn.
- The quality of facilities vary. In newer blocks, the labs are nicer but the equipment in all labs can be old and dirty. Some rooms get way too hot which makes it impossible to concentrate. Changing rooms are too small and get way too crowded when 6 classes have PE at the same time. This forces students to change in toilets or avoid changing at all. Stairs can get crowded and in peak times it basically becomes a stampede. The grounds have cracks, uneven bumps, trash everywhere, pot holes.
- On rainy days, students can only stay inside if they go to the library or their own form rooms. And as mentioned before, you're basically never placed in the same form class as your friends... So if you want to stay out from the rain inside a class, you can't, because who wants to go somewhere where they're not with their friends? I understand this rule is to stop random students from trashing the class, but it just leads to more students staying out in the rain or the hallways.
- I was part of the music department for most of my times at BHS. The junior performance programs were nice at my time, but I can't comment on the experience for year 9/10s now. If you are a talented musician, I would say that you would enjoy being part of chamber groups, bands, and choir, but my friends who were part of orchestra would not recommend it.
- From what I've heard from friends, the councillors are useless and don't help at all.
- Sick bay staff were kinda rude when I went a few years ago but I don't really know if its changed now.
- Student office staff are ok but can be dismissive and blunt at times.
- Too many vapeheads and weed smokers in the bathrooms
- Fire alarms are pulled and actual fires are lit surprisingly frequently, leading to hours of standing either in the blazing sun or in wet mud.
- If you are a top athlete, musician, or academic student, then BHS would definitely cherish you so that might brighten your time there. So I guess there's another positive :)
- No student parking at all, so students have to park on Memorial Ave or Greers Rd. Memorial ave can get really busy when school starts and ends so it can get dangerous for drivers and pedestrians.
- Careers advisors don't really help you if you want to go outside of NZ. They just give you random books for Auckland or Otago and that's it. So if you're aiming for USA or UK, you might get more help at private schools.
Basically, if you want to achieve high grades by attending a school that actually cares about the learning experience and their students, you should probably go to a private school or at least a public HS that is better than here.
Good for music and sport and not much else.
Great drama and art departments!! The teachers care and are passionate. The school board could use some insight on why expensive uniforms are a terrible idea. Most teachers care a lot about what they do. However, there are some issues with the councilors and head of school who don’t address bullying well. Some of the Councilors truly do not care and are extremely sexist.
Music and sort are highly valued and everything else is underfunded.
Music and sort are highly valued and everything else is underfunded.
Big booty latinas
This schools sucks. Teachers are ALL pedophiles, even the females. Girls hate boys, boys hate girls. Everyone is racist and gay and sexist and black. And mentally challenged . You won't possibly get a good education
Burnside high-school
This school has a huge lot of different opportunities for different individuals and interests so it’s really great for that, especially when it comes to music however there seem to be a lot of not very good teachers, wether it be their teaching skills, their personality, or both. And also a lot of the students are not the best behaved but I guess that’s any high-school
Its okay…
Teachers: Some teachers are absolutely amazing, and a couple think that blatant racism, transphobia, homophobia and being ableist is acceptable.
The few bad teachers tend to ruin it for a lot of students, but the rest of the teachers make up for it by far.
Clubs: The school advertises itself as having lots of activities and clubs, but in reality unless you enjoy sports, or are really good at music or drama there isn’t really much for you.
2023’s new uniform: as of now, the price to get the total uniform (only what is required, with two pairs of the shirt and shorts + a jacket) is around $900. This is absolutely insane and needs to be sorted out asap. We are NOT a private school, and our uniforms prices should not be priced as such.
Safety and security: The deans do next to nothing about harassment, violence, and bigotry. Most students don’t deal with these, but those who do get essentially no support, and end up getting told off / suspended for defending themselves. Bullying wise, they are actually semi-okay.
Outdoor environment: As of now, there is little shelter / cover outside. When it rains, the wet lunch bell tends to not be rung. This is a problem, as it leaves very little spaces to sit / stand out of the rain.
Students are limited to sitting under the roofs that cover the walkways that go to and from the blocks. This really isn’t good enough, and needs to be sorted out. Either by building more cover for students, or by actually ringing the wet lunch bell.
Accessibility: Almost all of the blocks have an upstairs. Guess how many have elevators? Two. One of the gyms, and N block (technology block). This really isn’t good enough.
All the blocks that are higher off the ground do have ramps to get into the block, but some only have one on the block. This can be a pain for some, but is better than nothing.
Some classes have very narrow spaces between desks which makes it difficult for people who use some types of mobility aids.
The school is actually reasonably accommodating towards those with mental disabilities and illnesses.
1) They give students with ASD, anxiety, dyslexia, ADHD (there is probably more that i cant think of currently) extra time on exams & tests.
2) Those with dyslexia have to option to get a reader, or to use a device for exams & tests.
Learning and support: The school has a decent support system for students who have conditions that affect their ability to work, but it can sometimes be a pain to get into said system (held in the learning centre).
The school also has a team of councillors that have proven helpful to the majority of students who have utilised them.
Overall, Burnside high school is alright. It has its strengths and weaknesses like anything else. It just unfortunately doesn’t have enough pros to be considered a good school (in my opinion of course).
Sincerely, a year twelve hoping for change.
The few bad teachers tend to ruin it for a lot of students, but the rest of the teachers make up for it by far.
Clubs: The school advertises itself as having lots of activities and clubs, but in reality unless you enjoy sports, or are really good at music or drama there isn’t really much for you.
2023’s new uniform: as of now, the price to get the total uniform (only what is required, with two pairs of the shirt and shorts + a jacket) is around $900. This is absolutely insane and needs to be sorted out asap. We are NOT a private school, and our uniforms prices should not be priced as such.
Safety and security: The deans do next to nothing about harassment, violence, and bigotry. Most students don’t deal with these, but those who do get essentially no support, and end up getting told off / suspended for defending themselves. Bullying wise, they are actually semi-okay.
Outdoor environment: As of now, there is little shelter / cover outside. When it rains, the wet lunch bell tends to not be rung. This is a problem, as it leaves very little spaces to sit / stand out of the rain.
Students are limited to sitting under the roofs that cover the walkways that go to and from the blocks. This really isn’t good enough, and needs to be sorted out. Either by building more cover for students, or by actually ringing the wet lunch bell.
Accessibility: Almost all of the blocks have an upstairs. Guess how many have elevators? Two. One of the gyms, and N block (technology block). This really isn’t good enough.
All the blocks that are higher off the ground do have ramps to get into the block, but some only have one on the block. This can be a pain for some, but is better than nothing.
Some classes have very narrow spaces between desks which makes it difficult for people who use some types of mobility aids.
The school is actually reasonably accommodating towards those with mental disabilities and illnesses.
1) They give students with ASD, anxiety, dyslexia, ADHD (there is probably more that i cant think of currently) extra time on exams & tests.
2) Those with dyslexia have to option to get a reader, or to use a device for exams & tests.
Learning and support: The school has a decent support system for students who have conditions that affect their ability to work, but it can sometimes be a pain to get into said system (held in the learning centre).
The school also has a team of councillors that have proven helpful to the majority of students who have utilised them.
Overall, Burnside high school is alright. It has its strengths and weaknesses like anything else. It just unfortunately doesn’t have enough pros to be considered a good school (in my opinion of course).
Sincerely, a year twelve hoping for change.
IDGAF THIS SCHOOL!!!! IM SO MAD
This school has such SUCH a toxic culture i was bullied so much to the point i now have bad mental health and feel so shi about myself it happened everywhere walking to class, break time , on the bus , in class which the teachers did shi all about especially those bloody p .e teachers. i swear . they join in on the bullying . EVERY SINGLE DAY their r fights and students getting jumped at one point this yr 9 got jumped by 5 other girls and the teachers just sat and watched saying ‘we cant touch students’ . Like stfu when boys do questionable things to girls u give no fucs . Druggies run the school these students out their doin and snorting stuff everyday during class at break after school like give me a break how is anyone meant to focus on learning new info for tests when everyday this is some new drama everyday u hate coming to school everyday there is some other kid ready to make u hate ur self . This school ruined me no joke them bundy lowlife students need a good bash but the school ain’t gonna do nothin about them bullying and abusing others. Burnside will do ANYthing to stop all the bad things happening to get out to the public, the principal always on stuff saying things need to change this never happens at my school MY SCHOOL IS A AMAZING AREA OF OPPURTUNITES AND OUR STUDENTS LOVEEEEE BEING AT OUR SCHOOL. OK LIKE STFU THOSE KIDS ARE OUT THERE WISHING THEY HAD GONE TO LITERALY ANY OTHER SCHOOL IN CHCH BECUZ NOW THERE LIFE IS FALLING APART. STEP UP WITH THIS BS AND GET UR SCHOOL TOGETHER CAUSE THOSE KIDS ARE SUFFERING
Burnside druggie paradise
Although initionally impressed.
I know wish we had not choosen this school.
Big tick for afew things, the opportunities in learning, support from some of the teachers.
Supported opportunities in some of the classes.
However Burnside is a bully school.
With little to no consequence.
Also Burnside has a huge drug problem. The school cannot and does not do anything about this, there are areas on school grounds, well known for drug dealing and smoking.
Backfield, gym area, any toilet areas.
My child arrived, with great promise, lots of ambitions,hopes and dreams.
In year nine, had been introduced to pot, and vaping, it was soon evident that the school choose to ignore this problem. That is because the problem was sooo large.
My child, tried to head away from this group and the drugs, but was then severely bullied, by a older group of boys, which went on for over a year.
My child was smoking pot in school grounds 3/4 times a day.
The drugs have ruiened our lifes.
We are now needing severe rehab for our child and the dreams and hopes and ambition are long gone, we will need to spend more time in rehab and re building self esteen and anger issues, than my child accually spend at school.
My other child, in first week at school was offered drugs, this was reported and we were told "it was dealt with".
But that child is still there.
Our younger child knows exactky where the druggie kids go to smoke and deal in drugs in school premises.
The drugs and bullying at Burnside, have totally torn our lifes apart.
Devistated us and our childs life.
All our dreams and hopes for the future life crushed.
Our child will go from school into rehab and hopefully we can build ours and his life back.
PLEASE DO MORE ABOUT DRUGS AT YOUR SCHOOL. DONT TURN YOUR BACKS.
OUR KIDS DESERVE MORE.
I know wish we had not choosen this school.
Big tick for afew things, the opportunities in learning, support from some of the teachers.
Supported opportunities in some of the classes.
However Burnside is a bully school.
With little to no consequence.
Also Burnside has a huge drug problem. The school cannot and does not do anything about this, there are areas on school grounds, well known for drug dealing and smoking.
Backfield, gym area, any toilet areas.
My child arrived, with great promise, lots of ambitions,hopes and dreams.
In year nine, had been introduced to pot, and vaping, it was soon evident that the school choose to ignore this problem. That is because the problem was sooo large.
My child, tried to head away from this group and the drugs, but was then severely bullied, by a older group of boys, which went on for over a year.
My child was smoking pot in school grounds 3/4 times a day.
The drugs have ruiened our lifes.
We are now needing severe rehab for our child and the dreams and hopes and ambition are long gone, we will need to spend more time in rehab and re building self esteen and anger issues, than my child accually spend at school.
My other child, in first week at school was offered drugs, this was reported and we were told "it was dealt with".
But that child is still there.
Our younger child knows exactky where the druggie kids go to smoke and deal in drugs in school premises.
The drugs and bullying at Burnside, have totally torn our lifes apart.
Devistated us and our childs life.
All our dreams and hopes for the future life crushed.
Our child will go from school into rehab and hopefully we can build ours and his life back.
PLEASE DO MORE ABOUT DRUGS AT YOUR SCHOOL. DONT TURN YOUR BACKS.
OUR KIDS DESERVE MORE.
Backs.. i wish we hadnt choosen this school.
Although impressed at start, with curriculum, opportunities and handling of some situations that arose, but the most frustrating thing about the school is the massive drug problem, in year nine, alot of peer presure, we advised school where and who the drugs were coming from, but the school decided to sit on there hands, they knew who the kids where,but sat behind all sorts of excuses, saying "they cannot check bags"or person as its against human rules, well seriously, where are the rights of the other students?? Having drug pressures.
There are daily fights on school grounds, and a bully culture, year 10, my son was sent home in a taxi, for his safety, from bullying which had been going on for months, by a group of year 12s.
So my son aged 13,arrived, with great hope, many interests and a great school backing frim previous school. He left, with a raft of ussues, addicted to drugs, (pot), had tried other drugs there,inclu vaping. He was frustrated, angery, and had lost all his passion for life and future.
Burnside is a bully and drug school.
Teachers and senior staff turn their ba
There are daily fights on school grounds, and a bully culture, year 10, my son was sent home in a taxi, for his safety, from bullying which had been going on for months, by a group of year 12s.
So my son aged 13,arrived, with great hope, many interests and a great school backing frim previous school. He left, with a raft of ussues, addicted to drugs, (pot), had tried other drugs there,inclu vaping. He was frustrated, angery, and had lost all his passion for life and future.
Burnside is a bully and drug school.
Teachers and senior staff turn their ba
You're better off being homeschooled.
Burnside is a textbook example of how overcrowding and large pools of students lower the quality of education for all but the extremely talented, who Burnside places on pedestals while the other 99% are struggling.
In my 5 years at Burnside, I have never passed a year of English. This is due in part to the fact that I had several first year teachers (who later quit or were fired) for most of my English classes.
A good heaping of the teachers are old, cynical, jaded and demand the utmost respect at all times. Even when they do not do the same to students.
There is a very obvious distinction to be made between the music and tech departments. Music departments are at the front of the school, and are often teeming with the sounds of talented, young musicians. Their blocks are in pristine condition and their equipment is replaced and upgraded frequently. Compare this to the tech blocks, which are shunted away in awkward, archaic positions that are very clearly dilapidated. It's a bit of a running joke that the chairs in X block are about as old as the school itself, because they're rickety and in desperate need of replacement. And yet, year after year funds are funneled into the music departments while the tech departments struggle to make do with the miniscule resources their given. No disrespect to any of the teachers who work in tech. I often found that they were the best and most helpful in all my years. I'd truly recommend the game design, electronics and digital courses, for this reason alone.
Pray to the almighty cabbage tree you get **** ****,*** *******,*** ********** ** *** ******* because while the rest of your classes will suck the life out of you, these teachers alone will bring it back. I was fortunate enough to have all 5. The science blocks are all great too. Most of the physics/chemistry teachers have some screws loose, so look forward to whole lessons devoted to random tangents about aliens, global warming and memes.
That being said, steer clear of P.E, Health, English, and most of the social sciences because most of those teachers (if you can really call them that) are atrocious and will make you contemplate going postal.
Bullying at Burnside is frankly appalling. I personally know a lot of students who had to leave Burnside because of how badly they were being bullied, and all while the school sat on their hands.
I'm sure the school tries it's best to keep up with all the needs of it's students, but the actual resources and people required to keep students happy just aren't being allocated properly. Burnside is only getting bigger, which means student pools are only getting bigger too, which only further stretches what little resources the school has, further exasperating all of it's glaring problems.
If you've ever wanted to feel like the protagonist in Dystopian Science Fiction novel, Burnside will be right up your alley. They even give you a little, 5-digit number in exchange for your name. All the while, you'll be pushed around your various classes, learning nothing, all while being told that the information that's crowding your head is extremely valuable, whilst paradoxically being near unapplicable anywhere outside of school.
The one, and I mean ONE silver lining to this school is that because you're so insignificant and virtully invisible, it makes it very easy to get away with things like:
-Bunking
-Stealing from the canteen
-Fighting
-Having sex in the toilets
-Smoking in the toilets
I didn't think I would do any of those things when I was a dumb year 9, either but by year 13, I had become so disillusioned by the callous environment that I was practically pushed to it.
Burnside is one of the toughest tests of mettle you will ever face, and the worst part is that I can't even say it was worth it.
In my 5 years at Burnside, I have never passed a year of English. This is due in part to the fact that I had several first year teachers (who later quit or were fired) for most of my English classes.
A good heaping of the teachers are old, cynical, jaded and demand the utmost respect at all times. Even when they do not do the same to students.
There is a very obvious distinction to be made between the music and tech departments. Music departments are at the front of the school, and are often teeming with the sounds of talented, young musicians. Their blocks are in pristine condition and their equipment is replaced and upgraded frequently. Compare this to the tech blocks, which are shunted away in awkward, archaic positions that are very clearly dilapidated. It's a bit of a running joke that the chairs in X block are about as old as the school itself, because they're rickety and in desperate need of replacement. And yet, year after year funds are funneled into the music departments while the tech departments struggle to make do with the miniscule resources their given. No disrespect to any of the teachers who work in tech. I often found that they were the best and most helpful in all my years. I'd truly recommend the game design, electronics and digital courses, for this reason alone.
Pray to the almighty cabbage tree you get **** ****,*** *******,*** ********** ** *** ******* because while the rest of your classes will suck the life out of you, these teachers alone will bring it back. I was fortunate enough to have all 5. The science blocks are all great too. Most of the physics/chemistry teachers have some screws loose, so look forward to whole lessons devoted to random tangents about aliens, global warming and memes.
That being said, steer clear of P.E, Health, English, and most of the social sciences because most of those teachers (if you can really call them that) are atrocious and will make you contemplate going postal.
Bullying at Burnside is frankly appalling. I personally know a lot of students who had to leave Burnside because of how badly they were being bullied, and all while the school sat on their hands.
I'm sure the school tries it's best to keep up with all the needs of it's students, but the actual resources and people required to keep students happy just aren't being allocated properly. Burnside is only getting bigger, which means student pools are only getting bigger too, which only further stretches what little resources the school has, further exasperating all of it's glaring problems.
If you've ever wanted to feel like the protagonist in Dystopian Science Fiction novel, Burnside will be right up your alley. They even give you a little, 5-digit number in exchange for your name. All the while, you'll be pushed around your various classes, learning nothing, all while being told that the information that's crowding your head is extremely valuable, whilst paradoxically being near unapplicable anywhere outside of school.
The one, and I mean ONE silver lining to this school is that because you're so insignificant and virtully invisible, it makes it very easy to get away with things like:
-Bunking
-Stealing from the canteen
-Fighting
-Having sex in the toilets
-Smoking in the toilets
I didn't think I would do any of those things when I was a dumb year 9, either but by year 13, I had become so disillusioned by the callous environment that I was practically pushed to it.
Burnside is one of the toughest tests of mettle you will ever face, and the worst part is that I can't even say it was worth it.
amazing school
been great made good friends and stuff
Hell on earth
burnside high school was one of the best but worst schools I have ever been to. personally, burnside was the best for finding people I want to stick by even after leaving school. it's great for finding friends who motivate you to come to school but apart from that it is full of bullying (which the teachers think yelling about in assembly will help rather than putting a stop to it). Burnsides teachers are either very un observant or choose not to notice 50% of the schools population smoking on the field or vaping in their new million dollar bathrooms which by the way have vents, fully shut off rooms AND are accessible to boys and girls at the same time. burnside teachers dont care about their students wellbeing and being here was some of the worst years of my life. please do not send your child here, although they put up a good front, burnside will cover up any child's wrong doing as long as they provide the school clout (along with sexual harassment). burnside is a horrible place for the faint hearted and I am lucky to leave when I did.
Amazing music
It’s been great and great music and great teachers
Great school great music
It has been amazing
Why Burnside High?
Burnside has been absolutely amazing! The music programme is the best in the country for a reason, and because it’s so big, there are many more opportunities you wouldn’t normally get, especially at a smaller school. However every school has its downsides, and although I have not experienced it myself, I know people who have been bullied while at burnside, and struggled with some of the other culture aspects that include smoking/vaping.
The canteen is extremely overpriced, but despite this the food is actually not bad.
Burnsides opportunities are way too long to list, but there is something for everyone from technology subjects such as hospitality and textiles, to art, to music, PE/health, maths, English, and social sciences like classics history and geography.
The canteen is extremely overpriced, but despite this the food is actually not bad.
Burnsides opportunities are way too long to list, but there is something for everyone from technology subjects such as hospitality and textiles, to art, to music, PE/health, maths, English, and social sciences like classics history and geography.
Experience at Burnside High School
As Burnside School is a public school, the moment you let your grades slip you get left behind. The teacher unconsciously decide you are a lost cause and not put any effort in helping you catch up. Teachers should discuss academic progress with students after class for those who are struggling instead of during class. If you want to join leadership roles at this school, be prepared to be rejected as deans judge your application solely based on popularity, grades, and ethnic background. I personally think going to class is a waste of time during year 12 and 13 as teachers seem to only read from presentation slides which can just be posted online and allow the student to learn by themselves. This would be extremely helpful for students to learn how to manage and distribute their time if they decide to pursue university. You can spot broken windows and be put in cold classrooms which I find it ironic as allegedly the school spent half a million dollars on constructing a new bathroom. There is a lack of opportunities that require mimimal experience and money for you to do something worth your time. Thank you for listening to my rant. If I were to repeat Burnside High school I wouldn't as they make sure to include their Maori culture into everything which I can safety say does not interest anyone I have spoken to.
Don't go there
The school cares more about reputation and good grades and how you present your uniform than the welfare of their students. They are constantly telling you that you need to achieve highly academically and dress properly and they don't have any care for their students wellbeing
This school has been hell
There is very little to like about this school. In my 5 years of being there, there have been nothing but badly handled conflicts and unwelcoming staff. There have been fights almost every day which the school covers up really quickly and don't even punish the people involved. There is a huge bullying culture at this school that teachers see and do practically nothing about. The guidance department has been nothing short of useless and a cause for anxiety. Would not recommend in the slightest. Burnside cares more about their reputation than the welfare of their students. They put up a good front, but I can't let other people unknowingly commit themselves to this school.
There are a lot of good teachers here, but I've found the cons FAR outweigh the pros.
There are a lot of good teachers here, but I've found the cons FAR outweigh the pros.
lots of bullying
theres heaps of bullying that teachers do nothing bout even when its right in front of their faces. so much violence like fights every day and students gettting jumped. i dont feel safe at school and you work around with a guard up. this school has really messed with my brain mentally because its so toxic. some teachers r good. they try cover things up so people outside of the school dont find out about bad things. you get in more trouble having a fight video then getting into a fight. its dum
lots of bullying
There is heaps of bullying that teachers do nothing bout even when it happens right in front of their faces. so much violence with fights everyday and students getting jumped. dont feel safe at school so you always have to keep your gaurd up walking round. This school has really messed with my head mentally cause of the toxic enviroment. the school covers things up so bad things that happen dont get out. they will give u a worse punishment if u have a fight video then if if you were actually in the fight. its dum
Please don’t send your child here
I hated going to this school. I constantly felt picked on by the teachers and the teachers were always spreading drama around the school. The way that burnside made me feel as a student was horrible. I didn’t want to wake up in the morning because of this school.
a good reviews
I really like the school because they are kind and they sort things out fast.
Showing 30 of total 31 reviews
Greers Road, Unknown, Christchurch
Phillip Holstein
03 358 8383
About SchoolParrot
- SchoolParrot is a review site for schools. We are a company that believes in more transparency within schools. Our platform is open to all users.
Read about SchoolParrot and our company - Reviews are published in real-time without moderation and we want to encourage our users to provide constructive feedback and keep a serious tone. The responsibility lies with the user.
Read our review guidelines