Boarding at Adams House
Welcome to Adams House - the boarding hostel for Christchurch Boys' High School
Adams House was named after Mr J.C Adams who was the Chairman of the Board when the Hostel was founded in 1915-16. A complete redevelopment of our new buildings 
were officially opened in October 2001. Upgrades were completed to Harakeke Block in 2017 to make the entire complex a modern, home away from home.
Adams House primarily caters for rural families in the South Island. With a capacity for 135 full time boarders Adams House provides a very significant contribution to the history, reputation and daily life of Christchurch Boys’ High School. The Hostel is situated just five minutes walk from the school on Harakeke Street.
Our philosophy on boarding is simple, we are the students “Home Away from Home”, we strive to provide the best possible boarding and life experience for our students. The Head of Boarding and ten housemasters live on site. Every effort is made to ensure all our boarding students are treated equally, with compassion, respect, appropriate discipline and the care a parent would treat their own son.
We take great pride in our facilities. The living areas are modern, warm, clean, comfortable and perfectly maintained. All year groups have their own common room. High speed wireless internet ensures all students have modern, filtered computer access. Our 1.3ha grounds are immaculate and provide a park like setting. Recreation facilities include a heated swimming pool, tennis courts, cricket nets, weights gymnasium, basketball court and two playing fields.
We are very proud of our facility, our history and the culture we have developed at Adams House.
Altiora Peto
Rhys Archibald
Head of Boarding
The School’s Hostel opened in its present position in August 1917 with 24 boys.
The school magazine of the day reported: “We are well housed in the fine new building, which is wonderfully warm, a great contrast to the tents of the last term.”
In April of 2000, a total redevelopment of the Hostel began. The most recent upgrades to Harakeke Block in 2016 and 2017 have now completed the full site redevelopment making for an incredibly modern facility. The complex, more like a hotel facility than a boarding school, is our pride and joy. For boarders, most of whom are from rural areas and small towns, the hostel is a home away from home that seeks to assist them to achieve educationally and to provide them with the opportunity to develop socially in the company of other boys of similar ages.
The hostel also provides our boys’ opportunities to develop sporting and cultural talents and to achieve a high level of success in these areas.
- Situated on more than three acres of exceptionally maintained grounds bordering the Avon River
- Capacity for 135 full-time boarders
- Accommodation is separated into three blocks (Straven, Worcester & Harakeke)
- Each boy has a wardrobe, six drawers and a locker in which to store his possessions
- All the boys have personal study spaces provided in their rooms
- Supervised prep each night (Monday – Thursday) for a minimum of 1.5 hours
- Peer support and prep assistance available. Access to private tutors if required
- The boys have the use of a modern learning environment with screen sharing, group study areas and remote printing
- Unlimited data UFB wifi access (from March 2017) controlled by system administrators and protected by a state of the art firewall
- Modern, spacious common rooms including multimedia access and Sky TV
- Other recreational resources include table tennis, kayaks, a cricket bowling machine and an excellent weight training facility
- Avon Block is the main service block. This building has the kitchen, dining room, Year 9 & 10 common room, modern learning room, sick bay, laundry, staff room, Housemasters’ study, Manager/reception area and the office and the Head of Boarding.
Applications for Year 9 2026 enrolments close on 21 March 2025. Requirements are below:
- A completed Application for Admission as a Boarder Form only to be sent to the school – Enrolments (Adams House), Christchurch Boys’ High School, PO Box 8157, Riccarton, Christchurch 8440.
- Interviews will be held between Tuesday 11 February and Friday 4 April 2025. Please contact the hostel directly to arrange an interview time.
- Please bring a completed CV with the following requirements to your Adams House interview.
- A personal statement outlining why you want your son to attend our school and board at Adams House. Please include details of any association with the school, for example relatives who have attended the school to be submitted when you go for your interview at Adams House.
- Details of distance to the nearest local secondary school and any difficulties of access that may be experienced.
- Copies of your son’s most recent school reports (please be aware that a confidential report will be requested from your son’s current school).
- Details of any sporting or cultural interests outside the school.
- A testimonial from your son’s present school.
- Details of any medical conditions your son may have.
Current boarding fees for 2024 are $17,800 with a $1,000 deposit. All boarding and activity fees must be paid by direct debit. The annual boarding fee is to be paid either by three equal instalments in January, April and July as invoiced. Incidental charges and activity fees will be charged as incurred. These can be paid at any time through the parent payment portal, however any incidental charges that remain unpaid on the date of the direct debit will be added to the boarding fee and automatically deducted from your account in accordance with your direct debit authority. Those who receive a Boarding Allowance will have this credited to their account.