Otago Girls' High School (OGHS) is a secondary school in
Dunedin,
Otago, New Zealand. It was opened 6 February 1871, after a long campaign by
Learmonth Whyte Dalrymple. It is one of the oldest girls state-run secondary school in the Southern Hemisphere and the sixth oldest of its type in the world.[3][4]
At its foundation the school occupied a neo-classical building on its present site which it shared with
Otago Boys' High School. A new building on another site was built for the boys which they marched away to occupy in 1885. In 1910 the present main block was opened, designed by
Edmund Anscombe (1874–1948) and the old building on Tennyson Street was demolished. Anscombe's conception of a rouge-brick Elizabethan mansion, dreaming in the sun, was slowly extended. Temporary structures were replaced in the 1970s by
Ministry of Education blocks, contextualised by the use of brick to the Anscombe building. In the 1980s the main block was scheduled for demolition. After protest it was restored and extended by a sympathetic addition designed by
Ted McCoy, and in 1987 was listed as a Category I Historic Place.[6] The school has since acquired part of the old King Edward Technical School site. It has erected structures there accessible by way of a pedestrian underpass beneath Smith Street.
The school gained international attention in February 2022 after a Muslim student was beaten for wearing a
hijab by her peers, and resulted in the student being hospitalised with a concussion.[7] The incident led to an international and domestic outcry, with support for the student coming from
Bella Hadid,
Sonny Bill Williams, among others.[8][9] Two of the students responsible for the attack were subsequently expelled while a third was referred to counselling. Principal Bridget Davidson confirmed that the school was working with the victims, Muslim community and Police to address the bullying and assault.[10] Otago Muslim Association chairman Mohammad Rizwan welcomed the outcome.[11]
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's
verifiability policy. Please
improve this article by removing names that do not have independent
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citations.(August 2022)