Two classroom blocks at Wellington's Onslow College have been deemed earthquake-prone. Photo: CC 2.0 BY Phillip Capper
Onslow College's principal says their community and students have faced an "emotional toll" from ongoing building issues.
On Friday, the Wellington high school received two new earthquake assessments, which found its gym and a block of classrooms were 15 and 30 percent of the national building standard (NBS) respectively.
As a result, both buildings have been shut indefinitely - with students asked to work from home on Tuesday as alternative plans are made.
The key risks identified were:
- O Block: An assessed inter-storey drift of 6 percent between floors, a stairwell rating of 15 percent NBS, and an overall rating of 30 percent NBS.
- Gym (Block Q): An overall NBS rating of 15 percent, with the ceiling braces posing the greatest risk.
A building with a rating of less than 67 percent NBS is deemed to be an "earthquake risk", and a rating less than 34 percent NBS means the building is "earthquake prone".
Onslow College had faced earthquake problems before.
In August, the Ministry of Education apologised when it did not make the high school aware in 2022 its library was earthquake-prone and was strengthened a year later - all without the school's knowledge.
Onslow College principal Sheena Millar told RNZ the closures would put a lot of pressure on the school with NCEA exams starting soon.
Millar said the closure of O Block was concerning as it housed their learning support students.
"Any change is difficult, but they have some specialised needs with the buildings so we are very concerned how we support those students to be at school."
She said explained "the emotional toll" of challenges facing the school as a result of recent issues due to its building problems.
"We've had years of under-serving and this just highlights another step where we don't know where we are and we don't know how this is going to be rectified.
"It's remarkable how well all our kids do and staff do, despite that."
Millar told RNZ it was not clear what any costs associated with the buildings would be yet and what that work might look like.
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