A minute's silence has been observed for the 185 people who were killed in the 2011 Canterbury earthquake.

A minute's silence has been observed for the 185 people who were killed in the 2011 Canterbury earthquake, as hundreds gathered to mark the third anniversary of the tragedy.

Owners of damaged and unrepairable Canterbury homes are increasingly selling them on an "as is, where is" basis, a new property report says.

Nearly $200m is being paid by insurer Vero to the Education Ministry for quake-damaged schools in Christchurch, in one of the country's biggest-ever payouts.

Nine Christchurch schools are preparing to close their doors for the final time in the next few days as part of the Ministry of Education's post-quake shake-up.

A tiny Christchurch school that today won a David vs Goliath legal battle against a government-forced closure is hosting a victory party tonight.

The "unlawful" decision to merge a Christchurch school will see 70 per cent of its pupils "scatter" to other city schools, a court heard today.

An application developed by Christchurch researchers allows people to walk its streets and see how they looked before the earthquakes.

Four schools in some of the worst quake-damaged areas of Christchurch will be closed down and replaced by one super-school, Education Minister Hekia Parata announced today.

Three men were charged by police.

Cardboard pipes in Christchurch's new Cardboard Cathedral have been cut out and replaced, but a spokesman says "it's nothing to be worried about".

A Christchurch school has today launched a last-ditch legal battle in a desperate bid to stay open.

The final cordon around Christchurch's quake-damaged city centre was lifted today, bringing to an end the Defence Force's longest-ever domestic deployment.

A Christchurch rebuild worker sobbed and begged a judge for mercy as he was jailed for his part in a million-dollar cocaine smuggling ring.

The Education Ministry's $41 million proposed year 1-13 super school for Christchurch is set to be funded by the private sector, a document reveals.

Masked student superhero Flat Man has launched a winter offensive to help hard-up families still doing it tough in post-earthquake Christchurch.

Some Christchurch families are shattered after learning the Ministry of Education was closing their beloved schools as part of the $1 billion city schools shake-up.

Seven Christchurch schools will be closed and six will be merged from next year, Education Minister Hekia Parata has confirmed.

Seven workers were banned from the central city rebuild in March after returning positive drug tests.