Cobham Intermediate School

Cobham Intermediate School is a state intermediate school in northwestern Christchurch, New Zealand, in the suburb of Burnside.

Cobham Intermediate School
Cobham Intermediate School in the centre; Burnside Primary in the foreground
Location
294 Ilam Road Burnside Christchurch, New Zealand
Coordinates	43.5108°S 172.5843°E / -43.5108; 172.5843
Information
Type	State co-ed intermediate (years 7 and 8)
Motto	Achieving For Life
Ministry of Education Institution no.	3323
Principal	Eddie Norgate (2016–present)
School roll	639[1] (July 2025)
Socio-economic decile	8[2]

Cobham was originally named Fendalton Intermediate. However, there was confusion between the school and Fendalton Open Air School, so the governor-general of New Zealand, Viscount Cobham, allowed the school to use his name.^{[citation needed]} At the end of term 1 in 2011 long-running principal Trevor Beaton left Cobham Intermediate to retire. Scott Thelning from Mt. Pleasant School took over as principal in Term 3, 2011.

In March 2018 Cobham student Maia Devereaux invited Women's Minister Julie Anne Genter to come and talk about the gender pay gap to the room 11 and 12 students.^[3]

The school went through major renovations between 2020 and 2024, as all buildings were demolished and replaced by larger hapori classroom buildings and a dedicated STEAM unit.^[4]

Cobham today

The Hayley Westenra Suite commemorates the famous singer

Cobham is currently the largest intermediate school in the South Island and has a total attendance of 639^[1] students.

Achievements

In 2005, Cobham won the Cantamath competition (a mathematics competition for schools around the Canterbury region) in both the year 7 and 8 competition. Cobham also has a chess club^[5], which places highly in the Canterbury Interschool Chess Tournament, held annually in Christchurch. Many musicians and singers from this school participate in the Lions Primary School Music Festival.^{[citation needed]}

Notable alumni

• Corey Anderson – New Zealand cricketer^{[citation needed]}
• Tim Batt – New Zealand comedian^{[citation needed]}
• Will Jordan, rugby union player
• John Key – New Zealand Prime Minister (2008–2016)^{[citation needed]}
• Tom Latham – New Zealand cricketer^{[citation needed]}
• Hayley Westenra – New Zealand pop opera singer^{[citation needed]}