Tauranga student numbers are booming. Photo / File
Millions of dollars are being pumped into new schools and classrooms in Tauranga as the Ministry of Education works to keep up with the city's booming population.
Provisional roll data from the Ministry of Education shows Tauranga schools are starting 2020 with full classrooms, with some rolls already more than double last year.
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Of the 65 Tauranga schools, 60 per cent have had growth in their provisional roll, while the total number of students across all schools jumped by 777 to 33,300.
The provisional school roll numbers provided earlier this month are an estimate and may change.
StatsNZ estimates the number of 5 to 9-year-olds rose from 9830 to 9970 in the year to June 2019.
The number of 10 to 14-year-olds increased from 9430 to 9830 and 15 to 19-year-olds rose from 8020 to 8230.
To cater to demand, Education Minister Chris Hipkins last year announced a $21 million investment into 35 more classrooms across the Bay of Plenty.
Across Tauranga, Ōtumoetai and Papamoa, plans are in place to cater to an additional 1850 students by next year.
Taumata School in Pyes Pā opened in February last year with 150 enrolments and is set to start the new school year with 400 - which is the school's capacity.
Principal Genavier Fuller said the school had the staff and infrastructure capacity at the moment, but the zoned school was already looking to the future.
"The housing was here and there's been a need for a school in this particular area for some time.
"The Board of Trustees is currently working with the ministry to start looking at what stage two will be, and I understand that is being expedited because of the growth in numbers."
The National Education Growth Plan to 2030, released by the ministry, stated stage two would see the capacity for an extra 250 students.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori O Te Matai in Te Puke has also seen the roll rise from 62 in 2019 to 138 in 2020, according to the provisional figures.
Tauriko and Greenpark schools had a combined roll drop of 71 pupils. But it has come as a relief to one principal.
Greenpark School principal Gareth Scholes said this was the first decrease in the roll in at least four years.
"We'd increased hugely. At the end of last year, we were 920 kids ... As soon as you grow, it puts pressure on everything," Scholes said.
"It's a relief for us because there's quite a bit of pressure on our school site and classrooms."
Scholes expected the roll to increase again given the housing developments in the zone.
With 279 pupils expected in 2020, Brookfield School had increased by 23. But there are $16m plans to relocate the school and increase its capacity to 325 pupils.
In Pāpāmoa the primary and secondary school network reached capacity in 2017 and the Ministry of Education has plans to put $25m into expanding the suburb's schools.
This includes $4m for the final building stage of Golden Sands Primary to increase capacity by at least 150 pupils and $21m on a new primary school for at least 650 children, opening next year at the earliest.
The ministry also planned to buy land for two primary schools and one secondary school in the Te Tumu area.
Papamoa College's provisional roll grew from 1399 last year to 1526 this year and Papamoa Primary School grew from 628 to 709.
Temporary classrooms are being provided at the college while permanent capacity is being delivered.
Papamoa College will be able to fit a maximum roll of 2000 once the final building stages are finished.
In Pāpāmoa, eight Special Housing Areas have been approved since 2016 and about 2750 dwellings have been fast-tracked, with more rapid growth expected.
Tauranga Boys' College Robert Mangan said the ministry's provisional prediction for the school roll to drop from 1998 to 1919 was not what he anticipated. The school expected around 2000 boys this year.
He said there had been a large bulge of students in Year 11 and the school expected about 460 Year 9 boys while Years 12 and 13 remained steady.
Students leaving school in the middle of the year to pursue employment or a trade had become increasingly common, he said.
What's already under way?
-An additional 12 secondary classrooms and 19 primary classrooms.
-A full primary, Taumata School, opened in 2019 with initial capacity for 400 pupils. Planning for Stage 2 has started.
-Significant redevelopment projects to renew ageing buildings.
- Land purchased for new primary and secondary schools in Ōmokoroa
What's coming in the next three years, by catchment:
Tauranga
• Planning for an additional 330 student places by 2021.
• Investigating sites for a new primary school for 500 pupils in southern Tauranga to open by 2024.
• A site for a secondary school in the southern part of the catchment to open within the next decade. Temporary accommodation required at other secondary schools across the city to help with demand.
• Develop a master plan roll for each school site to enable better use of existing spaces.
Ōtūmoetai
• Planning for an additional 520 student places by 2021.
• Potential relocation and expansion of a school to a vacant ministry-owned site.
• Consider an opportunity to support Māori medium pathways.
• Work with schools to consider a master planning capacity.
• Capacity expected to be increased to accommodate 120-290 more students.
Pāpāmoa
• An additional 1000 students expected by next year.
• Golden Sands Primary final building stage worth $4m to deliver space for at least 150 more students.
• New primary school for at least 650 pupils worth $21m to open next year.
• Immediate temporary primary accommodation to accommodate growth before the new primary school opens.
• Planning for final building stages of Papamoa College for a maximum roll of 2000 is under way.
Source: Ministry of Education National Education Growth Plan 2030, released in May 2019
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