Ōtūmoetai Primary School principals will today apologise to a local hapū for a historic decision which saw it become a "European only" school eight decades ago.
The apology will be made at a school assembly today in the presence of two kuia who attended the school at the time of the decision.
In April 1938, Pākehā parents sent a petition to the Ōtūmoetai School Committee asking for all 42 Māori children at the primary school to be moved to Bethlehem Native School.
At the time, Māori made up more than half the school roll of 77.
According to school committee records, it discussed the possibility of making the school European only and committee members asked the secretary to write to the Department of Education putting forward this proposal.