The benefit of a scholarship system
08 Jul 2025
Consultant anaesthetist Chris Munns (11018) has recently returned to Christchurch after 18 years living in Australia and England.
A recipient of an academic scholarship during his time at Christ’s College, Chris is ever mindful of the opportunities his school years provided.
“My father is English and he was keen on a top education in a single sex environment. Its resemblance to the UK public school system was reassuring and the scholarship certainly helped as I had two other siblings who were also privately educated.
“College provided me with a solid academic foundation and instilled in me the value of hard work. It fostered a belief in my ability to thrive in the real world,” Chris says.
“A good scholarship system really does benefit the school and the community and should be fought for tooth and nail.
“Getting a scholarship really helped me and gave me some confidence to really aspire to be what I wanted. It's great that College offers a whole variety of scholarships to children who are artistic, sporty and academic. Life in New Zealand is very expensive at the moment and these scholarships will certainly go a long way for some families.”
After studying at Otago University, Chris moved to Australia and the UK to continue junior medical jobs before settling on anaesthesia before sub-specialising in cardiac anaesthesia in London.
His first consultancy job in St Thomas' NHS Trust opposite the Houses of Parliament. A few years later, he moved to the English countryside with my family and transferred to The Royal Sussex in Brighton.
“Eventually, with Brexit and the decline of the NHS driven by years of austerity, we decided to give New Zealand a go,” Chris says.
He describes anaesthesia as a bit of an unknown for the general population but is a nice mix of scientific knowledge, patient interaction and practical skills.
“We get to help a whole bunch of people in different circumstances and get to work with a variety of machines that go bing.”
