New, Hostel At Selwyn House

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31865, 18 December 1968, Page 2

New, Hostel At Selwyn House

Holderness House, the new boarding hostel for Selwyn House School in Christchurch, was of- ! ficially opened yesterday. ! A plaque was unveiled by the chairman of the school i trust board (Mr W. Somers I Cox). The building was dedi- ‘ cated by the vicar of St j Mary’s Church, Merivale ! (Archdeacon R. P. F. Plais|towe). About 200 parents and 'friends attended the short ■ ceremony. Part of the hostel, which is 'adjacent to the school, is a ■ house formerly owned by the late Dr K. H. Allison. A new dormitory block, with accornI modation for 40 boarders, has been built behind it and will be called the Somers Cox wing of Holderness House.

Until recently, a house was rented for boarders attending the school. Holderness House is named after the first headmistress of Selwyn House, the late Miss Jean Holderness. Her three sisters, Miss Mary and Miss Mina Holderness and Mrs G. C. Warrington, were at the opening ceremony yesterday. Selwyn House first opened on Bealey Avenue nearly 40 years ago. It was started by a group of people who wanted to introduce the Parents’ National Education Union in New Zealand and there are now a little more than 100 pupils, girls aged from four to 13. The school was now the only one in the Southern Hemisphere where the P.N.E.U. scheme was in operation, although pupils could receive this form of education through correspondence in New Zealand, the present headmistress (Miss W. Lowndes) said yesterday. There are six full-time and four part-time staff members

at Selwyn House, which is inter-denominational. Holderness House contains the living quarters for boarders and the staff quarters. There are four attractive dormitories in the new block. The opening of the hostel marked a very solid achievement in the life of the school, said the chairman of the building committee (Mr P. Halilfax). The school and boarding facilities were now all concentrated in one place. “Selwyn House, right from the start, has had people who have given much time, money and thought to the school,” he said, thanking those who had helped. The photograph shows the sisters of Miss Jean Holderness at the opening of the Holderness House boarding hostel yesterday. From left to right: Miss Mary and Miss Mina Holderness and Mrs Warrington.