Wellington Girls’ College students have taken their protest to Parliament grounds, setting up a makeshift classroom to voice their outrage over the sudden closure of the school’s largest teaching block, Brook Block, which was revealed to be earthquake-prone. The building, which houses the majority of the school’s classrooms, was discovered to have a dangerously low earthquake resilience rating of just 15 percent of the New Building Standard (NBS), forcing 1300 students to work from home for at least two days.

The Ministry of Education had known about the building’s seismic vulnerabilities since 2020, but the school only learned of the issue in April 2024. This delayed communication has fueled frustration among students, parents, and staff. About 120 students arrived at Parliament by mid-morning on Wednesday, setting up desks on the lawn and working on laptops in full uniform. Placards displayed messages like “Education is a right, not a risk,” and “Don’t gamble with our safety,” while a whiteboard asked, “MOE, can you pass this listening comprehension test?”

The protest follows a tense 90-minute meeting on Tuesday evening between Ministry officials, parents, and school staff. Parents demanded an apology and expressed grave concerns about the safety of their children. “These are our girls—please look after us,” one parent pleaded, while another added, “You are putting the safety of our children at risk… it would be really, really nice to hear you say you are sorry.” A senior student, now forced to resume remote learning in her final year, directly asked, “Can we get an apology, please?” The Ministry did apologize for the poor communication but failed to adequately reassure the concerned parents.

Principal Julia Davidson expressed frustration over the delayed disclosure of the building’s condition. The Brook Block, with its two top floors added in 1994, lacks the necessary steel reinforcement to meet modern standards. Davidson pointed out that the school had already been grappling with the demolition of another building due to seismic risk and was operating out of relocatable classrooms on the sports field.

Student leaders accused the Ministry of being a hazard to the school community, highlighting that students and staff had been unknowingly exposed to danger for four years. In a letter, the student executive stated, “The Ministry of Education knew for four years that Wellington Girls’ College’s building, Brook, on Pipitea Street, was potentially high-risk—four years where students sat in high-risk classrooms, four years where teachers marked assessments in high-risk offices, four years where, to our understanding, we were safe in the buildings we were in.”

Year 13 student Ella voiced particular concern about the upcoming exams. “How are we supposed to be adequately learning when we have no facilities to do that?” she asked, referring to the Ministry’s plan to roster students for remote learning part of the time. “It’s extremely hard to work from home, and it’s taking us back to 2020 and lockdown.” Tracey, another Year 13 student, said they were at Parliament to show the Ministry and the world the dire situation they faced. “We want to learn, and if we have to learn at Parliament, so be it,” she declared.

The Ministry has promised to strengthen Brook Block to 35 percent of NBS by early 2025, but many remain skeptical. Parents questioned why the Ministry vacated its own Wellington office after receiving a 25 percent NBS rating, while advising the school to continue using a building rated at just 15 percent. “I would like to see why our children’s lives are essentially worth less than your own,” one parent asked.

The students emphasized that forcing them to work from home would harm their studies, especially for those who had no experience with remote learning. “The suddenness of this situation means students who entered Year 9 in 2022 or later will have no understanding of how to work from home efficiently at high school—teachers are forced to create digital lesson plans on the spot—and assessments have to be paused or altered,” the student executive wrote. They also expressed anxiety over the safety of remaining in school, saying, “Our students already lack a field, a hall, bathrooms close to classrooms, a place to gather altogether in an emergency evacuation, and any sense of guardianship from the Ministry of Education.”

The letter concluded with a powerful message: “Students write this letter from public libraries, bedrooms, parents’ offices, kitchens, and wherever else there is warmth and Wi-Fi. They should not have to search for a place to learn, there should be a designated location where they are comfortable and welcome—and that location should be an adequate school.”

The students warned that the effects of the Ministry’s poor and potentially life-threatening procedures would be lasting, regardless of what measures were taken now. “Had an earthquake occurred of high magnitude in the last four years while students were in the Brook Building, it would be too late now. This must not happen again, and the Ministry must fix its procedure.”

Despite their frustration, the students remain determined to continue their education, even if it means setting up classrooms on the steps of Parliament.