Van-Asch-College

Truro Street, Christchurch, New Zealand

The Van Asch Deaf Education Centre (also Van Asch College ) in Sumner, Christchurch, New Zealand is a school for deaf children.

The school was founded in 1880 and claims to be the first fully state-funded school for the deaf in the world. In the 1950s and 1960s was the philosophy of the school to encourage students to take the New Zealand Sign Language lip-reading and oral language to use. Today, however, is again the New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand's third official language taught.

In 1995, the former Sumner School for the Deaf -called school was renamed in honor of its first headmaster Gerrit van Asch.