THE PRESS SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 1983. The fate of Four Avenues

Press, 6 August 1983, Page 16

THE PRESS SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 1983. The fate of Four Avenues

If Four Avenues School in Gloucester Street is closed, it may well be because the school has fallen victim to its own success, and to the success of some of the education theories that prompted its founding. Four Avenues was set up in 1975 as a result of the Education Development Conference; it was to be a “school without walls,” where much of the learning took place in the wider community, and where pupils and parents had a good deal of say in devising the courses to be followed by individuals. The concept attracted many people, and ballots were needed to decide who should fill the limited places in the school. From the beginning, the school was experimental, and therefore flexible in its ways and subject to change.

In the eight years since then, some of the ideas that seemed advanced and even adventurous at Four Avenues in 1975 have been adopted by other State secondary schools. Other schools have introduced work exploration courses in which pupils can try out jobs. More account has been taken, where possible, of the needs of individual pupils. Parents elsewhere have been encouraged to take a more active part in school activities. Other secondary schools have begun to look a little more like Four Avenues.

Conversely, in response to demand, Four Avenues has helped pupils to pursue more academic and traditional studies, even while maintaining some of its experimental attitudes. Some Four Avenues pupils study for State examinations, such as School Certificate and University Entrance. They need access to special teaching equipment such as laboratories. Others have taken such subjects as commerce and languages by correspondence. Four Avenues has come to look more like a standard secondary school. The experimental idea has prevailed and much has been learned.

A considerable divide remains, not least because, having a ratio of staff to pupils of about one to 12, Four Avenues is able to offer courses tailored closely to individual needs. To the extent that Four Avenues and other State schools have begun to resemble one another, the special case for Four Avenues has diminished. For administrative convenience, Four Avenues is attached to Hagley High School, itself a significant innovator through such things as individual courses, “second chance” education for adults, and the abolition of school uniforms.

Four Avenues could not move easily to Hagley’s premises, even if buildings were available. Part of the Four Avenues success has come from the school’s small size, and from the camaraderie that has grown up among those who must make do with shabby, makeshift quarters. The condition of these quarters, in two old houses that need up to $lOO,OOO spent on them to bring them up to a reasonable standard, is the immediate cause of the decision

to close Four Avenues. The buildings were never meant to be anything more than a temporary home for an education experiment. They have not stood up well to intense use by 70 youngsters for several years. The areas itself is zoned residential and the school has survived there largely because the Christchurch City Council has not pressed the zoning question. As school rolls fall, another home might be found for Four Avenues. It would have to be self-contained, and as close as possible to the centre of the city, if the special spirit of the school was to be preserved. Even then, an adequate home could be expensive to set up if Four Avenues comes to require more and more of the specialised resources of an ordinary secondary school. When rolls are falling at other schools, expensive development for Four Avenues becomes harder to justify; yet the benefits gained by its pupils, and by the schools in which they would otherwise place added strains, argue for expenditure at least in proportion to what is spent on establishing other, more conventional schools. Four Avenues has undoubtedly been a success in encouraging pupils who do not fit easily into other State secondary schools. Children with handicaps, disruptive children, children whose parents dislike the normal school disciplines, have responded to the relaxed atmosphere of Four Avenues. Parents have always taken a close interest in the running of the school. Some have worked there part-time. As a result, pupils at Four Avenues probably have more individual attention than pupils at any other secondary school in Christchurch. The school would reject the charge, but outsiders might see an element of elitism about Four Avenues. Other secondary schools, given the same proportion of staff and students, might achieve similar results with pupils who have problems in learning.

The Minister of Education, Mr Wellington, and the Department of Education, have had to weigh the undoubted value of Four Avenues as a separate institution against the expense in proportion to the number of its pupils. One conclusion seems almost inescapable. Although variations of methods can be applied in other schools, the essence of Four Avenues’ success seems to lie in its being a separate school. To close the school, even though some of its special strengths can still be found at Hagley High School, will be a set-back for at least some of its pupils. If the school is closed, the decision will not have been taken lightly. The effects might be softened once the Minister has made clear what is meant by the proposal to set up an “activity centre for disruptive pupils.” Mr Wellington, however, seems to have too narrow a definition of the kind of pupils who are suited to Four Avenues. Many of those associated with Four Avenues will be vigorous in its defence. The special spirit built up there will not be easy to transfer or to create again.