[citation needed] Linwood College suffered the loss of a Year 11 student in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

[citation needed] Due to the earthquake damage, the college was demolished in 2019 and moved to the old location of Avonside Girls' High School.

A new college was rebuilt under the Greater Christchurch Education Renewal Property Programme and opened in 2022, at cost of $44 million.

[8] In August 2022, Te Aratai College attracted domestic media attention after the criminal white supremacist Philip Arps unsuccessfully nominated himself for a position on the school's Board of Trustees.

[9][10] His nomination led to Christchurch City councillor Sarah Templeton, Secondary Principals' Association president Vaughan Couillault, and retired Labour Party Member of Parliament Liz Gordon calling for legislative changes to ensure that extremists were not elected to school boards.