Wellington’s Rudolf Steiner School – a community project! In 1979 a small group of teachers, and the families of their first pupils, began to establish a School on a hilly site in Belmont. The first building was constructed at road level. I helped move and reinstate “prefab” classrooms up the hill. They were placed on the only “flat” area on the site. We built new buildings on the periphery and the prefabs were removed later to create play space.

We struggled to meet the needs of an extra class starting each year. Parents were paying the full cost of running the school and funding the development. Teachers and parents were making incredible sacrifices as we worked together on site development as well. In 1989 we reached a critical point. To continue we needed to become integrated as a Special Character School. If we had integrated as we were, we would not have been able to form our Upper School.

I had the full-time unpaid role of leading the project to establish our Upper School. We met MOE compliance, fundraised, and did major earthworks. I moved the old 1910 “Petone West” School building to the site and we integrated as a Class 1 - 13 School. I then helped brief the design for a substantial Upper School building, which I built as a School community project.

I am privileged to have been Board Chairperson of this incredibly successful School.