Palmerston North Technical School was opened on the 29th September 1909, corner of King Street and Duke (now Princess) Street. This building is now used by the Universal College of Learning (UCOL).

There were four main incarnations of Central School - The Original School (corner of Main and Princess Streets, 1872-1890), Campbell Street School (1890-1922), Central School (Featherston Street, built 1922), Central Normal School (became a practice school for teachers college students in 1956).