About Chilton Saint James School

Chilton is a school like no other. From Preschool through to Year 13, a Chilton student is encouraged to be an original thinker, a confident talker and a natural character. We pride ourselves in providing a bespoke educational experience for each student, with the overarching aim of nurturing their personal best. With small class sizes, passionate teachers and over 100 years of experience in providing exceptional education, our students are set up for a future with endless possibilities and potential.

 

Chilton Saint James School is a remarkable school set up by a truly remarkable woman, Geraldine FitzGerald. A woman of vigour, talent and single-minded vision, she made sure that her pupils had the richness of experience they needed to thrive in this pioneering country.

The world has changed a lot since our foundation, but our approach remains the same. We offer a challenging education where all girls are encouraged to be critical thinkers and citizens of the world. Life at Chilton is a broad, rich and diverse set of stimulating experiences. We fuse the best in academic achievement with the best in creative and active physical expression. Our goal is to provide the vehicle for girls to become their unique confident selves.

Book a tour now

Our Story

Chilton Saint James School strives to provide every student with opportunities to realise their potential. We aspire to develop a passion for learning for our students in a caring and friendly environment where they feel valued.

Chilton Saint James School is a world-class private co-educational Preschool and a girls’ day school from years 1 to 13. The campus is an oasis of mature trees, and a mix of beautifully preserved heritage and modern architecture located in central Lower Hutt- just a quick 15 minutes from the country’s capital City, Wellington. We also operate a Chilton Ballet Academy and Dance School for both males and females.

Established in 1918, Chilton is an independent school, affiliated with the Anglican Church. While we continue to nurture a connection to our traditions and heritage, we also welcome students from all faiths and celebrate one another’s religious traditions.

Book a tour now

Caroline Robertson

Meet Our Principal

Caroline Robertson

Caroline is a distinguished educator and brings a wealth of experience to Chilton Saint James School.

Caroline is deeply involved in shaping the direction of the school and works collaboratively with the board, teaching staff and whanau to create an inclusive and supportive learning environment for students to flourish and develop a lifelong love of learning.

crobertson@chilton.school.nz

 

 

Senior Management

Sarah Malone

Sarah Malone

Assistant Principal Senior School 7 - 13
Chris Canton

Chris Canton

Business Director
Michelle Hughes

Michelle Hughes

Assistant Principal Preschool / Primary
Bronwyn Bennett

Bronwyn Bennett

Director - Chilton Dance Centre

Board of Trustees

Chilton is governed by a Board of Trustees. In its governance role, the board works closely with the school leadership team to develop and maintain a vision for the school and responsibility for the policies and strategies that attain that vision.

The board is responsible for the appointment of the principal, to whom they delegate the management of the school. Together in partnership, the board and principal are responsible for the leadership of the school.

Phil Whitehead

Phil Whitehead

Trustee
Vibhuti Chopra

Vibhuti Chopra

Trustee
Nicky Chilton

Nicky Chilton

Deputy Chair
Ross Cameron

Ross Cameron

Trustee
Sara Warnock

Sara Warnock

Trustee
Elizabeth Friend

Elizabeth Friend

Trustee
Jimmy Zhou

Jimmy Zhou

Board Chair

About our Board

The Chilton board is a skills-based board and, alongside the FitzGerald Foundation Board, consists of committed and passionate parents, alumni and wider Chilton community members.

Our board trustees are nominated or invited to apply as required by numbers and/or skill requirements.

The work of the board is supported by portfolio responsibility including finance, growth, special character, risk and strategy.

Chilton Parents' Association

The Parents’ Association is a group of dedicated volunteer parents/caregivers who get together to support the principal, students, board of trustees and teaching staff to achieve their goals.

The objectives of the Chilton Parents’ Association are:

  • To assist, promote and support the activities and welfare of all people associated with Chilton Saint James.
  • To promote social activity among parents, teachers, staff and students of the school.
  • To raise and delegate funds to support the principal, students, board of trustees and teaching staff.
  • To promote and enhance the interests and reputation of the school.
All Chilton parents/caregivers are eligible to join the Parents’ Association. If you are interested in joining the committee or becoming a friend of the Parents’ Association, please send an email to pa@chilton.school.nz and we will send you further information.

Chilton Saint James School Alumni Association (CSJSAA)

The Chilton Old Girls’ Association (COGA) was formed in 1930.

Its motto “with the school, for the school – possumus” was suggested by our founder, Miss FitzGerald.

Renamed in 2023 as the Chilton Saint James School Alumni Association (CSJSAA), the group includes all our past whānau; principals, teachers, board of trustees, parents, coaches, men who were schooled at Chilton, and Reverend’s from St James Church.

President and Treasurer

Our President is Elaine Hines PY 1978

Treasurer & Secretary – Kate Chapman PY 1990

ALUMNI FOCUS

The Alumni Association’s objective is to bind together all whanau of Chilton Saint James School by their love of the school and their faith in its traditions, and to contribute to and support the school.

CONTACT US

Contact us at Coga@chilton.school.nz or Kate on 0212744605

The Chilton Saint James School Alumni Association (CSJSAA) is actively involved in supporting current school life a number of ways:

We support school events such as The Chilton Golf Day, The Chilton Style Event, afternoon tea with the principal and the Centenary Celebrations.

Each year we gift each Year 13 school leaver with an inspirational booklet: Words of Wisdom for Chilton Saint James School Leavers.

CSJSAA pays for half of the leavers’ bibles each year.

CSJSAA help with judging of the Primary School Speech Competition each year and provide the badges for the winners of the competition.

We help to keep the school’s alumnae database up to date.

Each year we give books to the school library.

FitzGerald Foundation

The FitzGerald Foundation is a powerful statement of intent by Chilton Saint James – to our girls, to the students of the future and to the wider community who will benefit from the activities and projects of the Foundation. The Foundation honours the legacy of Geraldine FitzGerald, the founding visionary of Chilton Saint James, by fund-raising for and undertaking projects and initiatives that will create an exciting multi-year and even multi-generational impact.

The FitzGerald Foundation promotes:

  • The education of disadvantaged girls via scholarships to Chilton St James
  • Capital projects of benefit to the girls, the school and the wider community
  • Future education initiatives for Chilton students

Employment

Chilton Saint James School is a private Anglican school committed to the highest educational opportunities, academic standards and pastoral care for students from Preschool to Year 13. The school is a traditional yet vibrant place to work and we are proud to have a high caliber of staff.

At Chilton, we offer employment opportunities for well qualified and self-motivated people who wish to work in a challenging and rewarding educational setting. All members of the Chilton community are expected to embrace the vision and values of Chilton Saint James School. There are many opportunities for students to undertake a wide range of extra-curricular activities and we encourage staff to immerse themselves fully in the life of the School.

Employment opportunities are listed on this site as they occur. Chilton currently advertises in education publications, specifically teaching vacancies, as well as on TradeMe and Seek. Vacancies are posted as they occur.

Should you wish to apply for a position, please complete the relevant application form below and enclose a covering letter and your curriculum vitae.

Submit applications to the principal by:

Email:
principal@chilton.school.nz
Post: Chilton Saint James School PO Box 30090, Lower Hutt 5040

In person to:
Chilton Reception: 124 Waterloo Road, Lower Hutt

ERO Reports

ERO is an independent, external evaluation agency that undertakes reviews of schools and early childhood services throughout New Zealand.

The ERO review team follows a set of standard procedures to conduct reviews. The purpose of each review is to:

  • Improve the quality of education for children in early childhood centres
  • Provide information to parents, communities and the Government.

Reviews are intended to focus on outcomes for children and build on each centre’s self review.

ERO’s framework for reviewing and reporting is based on four review strands:

  • Quality of Education – including the quality of the programme provided for children, the quality of the learning environment and the quality of the interactions between staff and children and how these impact on outcomes for children.
  • Additional Review Priorities – other aspects of the operation of a centre may be included in the review. ERO will not include this strand in all reviews.
  • Areas of National Interest – information about how Government policies are working in early childhood centres.
  • Compliance with Legal Requirements – assurance that this centre has taken all reasonable steps to meet legal requirements.

ERO reviews do not cover every aspect of centre performance and each ERO report may cover different issues. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to this centre.

Most ERO reports include recommendations for improvement. A recommendation on a particular issue does not necessarily mean that a centre is performing poorly in relation to that issue. There is no direct link between the number of recommendations in this report and the overall performance of this centre.

For more general information about ERO Reports, please refer to www.ero.govt.nz.