The block has not been used for classes since a new science block was opened last year, so was surplus to requirements and as a result will be demolished.
Rector Darryl Paterson said work to level the building would start this week.
‘‘The old science block ... was just getting beyond run down. So, that’s being demolished and that’s going to open up a 1400sqm area that’s called ‘the oval’ at the moment, but we will probably look at a more appropriate name further down the line.’’
The area is scheduled to be completed by the start of the 2020 school year and will feature artificial turf instead of grass, raised areas in three of its four corners — two of which will be covered by sun shades — and table and bench seating.
It will also be planted with trees and other greenery.
Mr Paterson said it will act as a space for pupils to ‘‘hang out’’ during lunchtime and interval, and offer a practical alternative to host other activities.
‘‘We see it as an area where we can have outdoor school assemblies, haka practices and as a meeting space. Boys will be able to play things like touch rugby, so it will be a real hub for the boys at the school and tidy up what has historically been the most tired area of the school.’’
He said such spaces had become ‘‘pretty common developments among most schools’’.
The project, which is being funded by the Ministry of Education and estimated to cost $325,000, also involves the demolition of the school’s five ball courts and another nearby building that had been used as a study room.
The former science block, opened in 1959, is named after former pupil Sir Angus Tait who attended the school in the 1930s.
Mr Tait, who died in 2007, founded Christchurch-based Tait Electronics in 1967, now known as Tait Communications.
Mr Paterson said it was likely a plaque on the building dedicated to Mr Tait would be erected elsewhere on the school grounds.
