New schools already nearing capacity
With Wakatipu High School’s roll expected to hit maximum capacity of 1625 by 2027, principal Oded Nathan says “time is of the essence” for the Ministry of Education to decide on options for secondary education in the basin.
He’s met with the Ministry “multiple times over the past 12 months” to impress upon them the "absolute urgency,” he says. “We need movement and movement fast, whether that’s expansion of the current site, a second campus for the existing school or a new school.”
Nathan is expecting to start the year with 1450 students – 100 more than last year with the largest cohort of 333 new Year 9s coming from the primary schools.
“Growth is constant. In 2020 we had 1034 students and we've experienced 45% growth and are fast approaching 1500 students,” he says. “We’ve got enough room and flexibility on the current site and last year we did some work with the Ministry and agreed that the current site’s capacity is 1,625.”
An additional 22 international fee-paying students can’t be included in the Ministry numbers. The school now has over 135 staff, including 100 teachers.
More discussions are scheduled this month. Roll projections suggest the school will be at capacity in two to three years, so the Ministry will need to make a decision quickly.
“We were told about this current (new) school in 2014, we moved in soon after 2018, and they finished building at the end of 2022.”
For Te Kura Whakatipu o Kawarau (Hanley’s) School principal Tania McNamara’s says the schools grown quicker than predicted. Her opening roll is about 330 pupils, up from 292 ending last year, despite Year 8s leaving.
“It’s already time to line up funding for the second stage of the school which opened two years ago,” McNamara says.
“We have quite a few new entrants. We tend to grow about 25 to 30 children per term and we’re expecting to match that growth this year. Last year’s growth is a lot quicker than the year before and we’re working with the Ministry to get underway building the 12 classroom second stage of the school.”
It's hoped that can start this winter, providing funding is available. The final third stage will go ahead depending on growth and the completed school will cater for 950 children.
“The way we’re growing we’ll be up to 400, maybe 450, by the end of this year if it continues.”
They’ve already had to reconfigure, turning the school library into two extra teaching spaces moving the library to rooms at the back of the hall.
Queenstown Primary opens with between 600 and 700 pupils, having lost a large cohort of 80 Year 8s. Newly zoned, principal Fiona Cavanagh says there’s a slight drop in numbers which, at a junior level, may impact staffing and funding. The school’s maximum capacity is 770 which won’t be reached by the end of the year.
The redevelopment work, including 11 classrooms moved from Wakatipu High School after aging ones were demolished, will be finished in June. The new classrooms will be officially opened this month.
Remarkables Primary principal Tim Young’s opening with 445 pupils and anticipating another 30 to 40 throughout the year, raising numbers back to last year’s ending roll of 478. He had 78 Year 8s leave last year.
“When we were bursting at the seams, we had up to 620 or 630 pupils, but when Hanley’s opened that alleviated our space challenges.”
Shotover Primary, now 10 years old, is steady at around 600 pupils with capacity for 900.
Rolls picked up last year after the borders re-opened with families from major cities and overseas moving south, principal Ben Witheford says. If housing development at Ladies Mile takes off that roll could rapidly rise though.
“We were told by the Ministry, pre-Covid, that there was money allocated to buy land, but I’m not aware of any comment that it’s been purchased,” he says.
Arrowtown Primary principal James Rasmussen has been faced with slightly dropping rolls since zoning was introduced and house prices rose to an average $2million in Arrowtown and its surrounds.
“It’s hard for families to be in that part of town as it’s so expensive. I suspect we may get more out-of-zone applications.” He’s lost 94 Year 8s to high school and opens with 470 pupils when the school can take up to 600.
The Ministry of Education is keeping any future high school site negotiations under wraps.
Leader (Hautū) infrastructure and digital Scott Evans says they’re “continuing to explore appropriate sites”.
“Our negotiations with surrounding landowners are confidential to protect the Crown and the landowners’ commercial interests.”
The Ministry typically looks to acquire between 6ha and 8ha for a new secondary school.
The district council’s Ladies Mile site was considered as a preferred option, however, the council decided other uses were more appropriate for that site, he says.
The Ministry will be working with the school and community this year to “develop a plan for responding to future demand for secondary schooling”.
The Ministry’s been monitoring growth at Te Kura Whakatipu o Kawarau to decide when further planned expansions there should proceed, Evans says. Council planning data also helps understand where future population growth will be.
