Ko te kaha e tarea ai, ko te mauri ora, kei runga noa atu – Being the best we can be
Learning is at the heart of everything we do here. We take an integrated approach, prioritising values, competencies and curriculum areas equally as we support our students to be the best they can be. We want our students to grow up to live successful, fulfilling and rewarding lives where they are happy in themselves, their relationships and their work.
To facilitate this we place high value on people and the impact they can have on our students' learning. Whether it is our staff, the Board, the PTA or parents in our community, we appreciate the important role these people play in the lives of our learners.
2020 was the year of our 150th birthday! We held a number of different celebrations throughout the year, had the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern come to our party and even made a movie! You can find out all about it here.
The first Mt Albert Primary School
The first Mt Albert Primary School opened its doors in 1870 as a result of the Common Schools Act to remove education from church responsibility. Mr McElwain presented 1 acre to the Auckland Education Board from his farmland between Kingsland and Morningside. The Mt Albert school roll of 1879 classes one and two, mentions very familiar names in Mt Albert – Sadgrove, Woodward, Garlick, Kelly, Walters, McGeehan, McDonald, McBride – the list goes on.
The first wooden school building was erected by local residents at their expense on the site. In 1880, this first building was removed and replaced by a two-roomed wooden building. The school roll grew rapidly and the building underwent a number of additions and remodelling over the years. From 1903–1906 attendance grew from 248 to 323 on average with 5 teachers who in fact had to share classrooms. This was an unsatisfactory state of affairs and in 1912 the addition of two classrooms was made to accommodate sixty pupils, though the Chief Inspector noted that, “I do not think the accommodation thus provided will be able to meet the rapidly growing needs of this suburban district.”
The school was remodelled again in the 1920s but a request for a rebuild denied, as it was pointed out that the Auckland Education Board owned another site on the corner of Mountain Rd (now Kitenui Ave) and Alexandra Ave (now Alexis Ave) and it was considered better to build there than add to the existing site. The school was however never built on that site as by 1936 the Education Board was looking at the site occupied by the Morningside Quarries (commonly referred to as Wilson’s Quarry) on Salisbury Rd (now Sainsbury). Tenders were finally put out for the building work in 1939 and the Mt Albert School was relocated to Sainsbury Road in 1940.
Mount Albert Historical Society Inc
Contact Us
P: (09) 846 9288
E: reception@maps.school.nz
Mt Albert Primary
6 Sainsbury Rd
Mt Albert, Auckland 1025