The children spent the morning learning the "three Rs" - reading, writing and arithmetic - using "olden day" methods.
The afternoon assembly at the Lake Wanaka Centre featured a traditional Maori welcome led by the school's kapa haka group, speeches by dignatories, and choir and dance performances.
The cramped school will remain open until next Thursday, although moving equipment to the spacious, new $21.5 million school next to Mt Aspiring College at Scurr Heights will start earlier.
The new site will officially open to about 430 enrolled pupils on October 11, the first day of term four.
Founding principal Moira Fleming and founding board of trustees chairman Dennis Pezaro shared fond memories of the Tenby St school site, which was designed for 150 pupils.
Mrs Fleming - described by Dr Pezaro yesterday as "the original Badjelly the Witch" - recalled sitting next to a rattling aircraft door on a flight from Dunedin to Wanaka for the official 1987 school opening.
She said the school site then was "huge".
"I thought this was good. And then I found out the buildings weren't so flash. People had been sitting around for 20 years, deciding what to do [about dividing Wanaka District School into secondary and primary schools] and they hadn't done any maintenance."
After a development programme, the school became "second to none in New Zealand," Mrs Fleming declared.
She was pleased the school will have a new hall, an amenity "desperately needed" to shelter pupils during bad weather such as yesterday's.
The old school's hall was converted several years ago to classrooms to cope with roll increases.
The Ministry of Education funding for the new school did not include a hall and the school community is fundraising for the $1.3 million project.
Founding board of trustees chairman Dr Pezaro said education took a major step forward in 1987 when the district school separated into two.
There was "loads and loads of gossip" about what would now happen with Tenby St and the leading story was it would be sold to fund the new school, he said.
The new site would cope with up to 650 children, but there are concerns that could be exceeded sooner than projections suggested.
Dr Pezaro, another former board chairman Chris Steven, and present chairman Pete Bullen have approached the Ministry of Education suggesting Tenby St be retained for future education needs.
Ministry of Education property manager Paul Burke said in April the property would go through the standard steps for disposal of Government property.
OLD V NEW
Old school
71 Tenby St, capital value $4.33 million, 2.12ha.
• 1880: Site is designated as a public buildings reserve, but Wanaka School is established on a nearby site near Bullock Creek.
• 1940: Designated as a school site in 1940.
• 1950: Primary school moves to 71 Tenby St.
• 1955: Converted to a district school for primary and secondary pupils.
• 1976: Becomes Wanaka Area School.
• 1987: Reverted to Wanaka Primary School when Mt Aspiring College opened on Plantation Rd.
New school
Scurr Heights, $21.5 million project, 6.8ha.
• 2004: Ministry of Education purchased site from Queenstown Lakes District Council for $5.8 million. Expectation school would open in 2007.
• 2005-2008: Consultation meetings on option for three-tier system of junior, middle and secondary school. The middle school option was eventually dropped.
• 2009: Design plans completed in March; construction started in April.
• 2010: School completed ahead of schedule and on budget.
