Pupils at Rowandale School in Manurewa are unable to occupy these new classrooms due to an administrative reason.. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Pupils at Rowandale School in Manurewa are unable to occupy these new classrooms due to an administrative reason.. Photo / Jason Oxenham
New data analysis shows some Auckland schools are overflowing while others sit half empty.
New data analysis shows some Auckland schools are overflowing while others sit half empty.
High schools in rich areas are so full they're funding their own classrooms to take extra kids, while those in the poorest neighbourhoods are struggling for students.
A Herald analysis of classroom capacity at state schools across the region has found a remarkably uneven spread of pupils, as parent choice and housing affordability continue to cause a headache for principals.
Numbers comparing teaching space to actual roll numbers last year at primary and secondary level showed some schools were overflowing while others sat half-empty. Neighbouring schools differed widely in popularity and size, and each suburb had its own complex issues.
Among secondary schools in particular, there was a clear trend by decile. Schools in affluent areas were likely to be full to bursting, while many in poor suburbs were using just half their classroom space. In total, there were 3146 spaces at deciles 1 and 2, while at deciles 9 and 10 the secondary schools were over the ministry-funded capacity by 1000 pupils.
Those figures did not include three new high schools, which were not yet full.
"Schools at the top of the food chain are attracting students and can maintain their rolls, but their lower decile neighbours are falling," said Secondary Principals' Council chairman Allan Vester, a principal at Edgewater College.
"If you're slightly over or under that's not a problem, but when the roll is trending down, you lose staff and that creates uncertainty, and you start to get an exodus. It can create a downward spiral."
An example of that trend was Papakura High School, which was struggling to attract not just teachers but a permanent principal, and to rebuild after a disastrous Education Review Office report this year.
In contrast, popular schools like Mt Albert Grammar were so full they had to turn away kids, and were using locally raised money to add space to what the government provided.
"We are pretty popular," said principal Dale Burden. "There are a lot of families that are moving in to the area but lots that moved in when kids were younger. Families are thinking ahead to get in."
At primary level, many schools were chock-a-block, and the government was adding hundreds of classrooms to cope. In some areas, however, the Ministry of Education is asking sought-after schools to think about a zone, to ensure more even growth as demographics continued to change.
Auckland Primary Principals' Association head Frances Nelson said overcrowding was usually more of a worry than empty chairs.
"Primary numbers tend to be more cyclical. It waxes and wanes depending on who's in the area, or where local early childhood centres recommend."
Rowandale Primary in Manurewa had been over-subscribed by more than 100 kids this year, principal Karl Vasau said. Without a zone, it couldn't turn anyone away and instead had classrooms crammed with kids. The ministry had provided relocatable rooms, but they were yet to be completed.
"There are lots of families moving to Manurewa as it's one of the last bastions of affordable housing," Mr Vasau said. "But we can't take everyone."
Ministry of education deputy secretary Katrina Casey said schools varied greatly in how full they were, which was driven by a range of factors including parental preference, the size of the local school-aged population, how close schools were to transport links, the teaching and leadership at a school, and what other schooling choices are available.
She said although there was a tendency for higher decile schools to be quite full, on average decile 1 schools were 81 per cent full, which was still "very high".
School fights falling roll and perceptions
Papakura High School is an extreme example of what can happen when a school is seen to be on the wrong side of the tracks.
Each day, pupils walk past its gates and across a railway line to get to Rosehill College, perceived by parents as offering a better education.
The exodus, which also includes students who have left to attend schools further north, has halved its roll in 10 years. It now stands below 600. Teachers have also had to leave because of a sinking-lid policy. Morale is low. Results are poor. A damning Education Review Office report, a delayed rebuild and the principal's resignation has topped off a tough year.
"It is somewhat of a downward spiral," says acting principal Steve Boviard, who is helping out until a new headmaster is appointed. "But I have every confidence it can be turned around."
Papakura is not the first to be in a such a situation, although the combination of issues will make it a tough road ahead. The largest issue, Mr Boviard says, is changing the way the community thinks about the school. Its decile 1 status already causes prejudice, and negative publicity combined with the local grapevine can be a powerful force. But the school needs to stop the roll falling to ensure a stable level of funding.
"The roll has huge implications - staffing, funding levels, the range of courses you're able to offer," Mr Boviard says. "And perception has a huge impact in terms of the roll."
The school has been in trouble for some time. After six ERO reviews in 11 years, and a limited statutory manager, you could ask why more wasn't done sooner - particularly after heavy criticism from reviewers about the principal and board. However, the Ministry of Education says dissolving the board and replacing it with a commissioner is a big step.
"We know that Papakura High School does need strong ongoing support to meet the challenges that it is facing," says Ministry of Education deputy secretary Katrina Casey.
And, despite the original intentions of the self-managing schools model - that "failing schools" would be shut down - the ministry said it would not close Papakura.
Rangitoto High School principal David Hodge, who previously ran Tamaki College when it was in a similar situation, said the Papakura case showed the flaw in the self-managing schools' original plan.
"The ministry has realised there is a big cost in providing new school buildings for growing schools and a waste of assets in having schools with empty classrooms," he said. "I think the ministry is caught in a philosophical or political hole. They do not want to be seen as making parents go to a local school if it is not popular but they also want to maximise the existing school network."
Chairman of the Secondary Principals' Council Allan Vester understood the issue, as his school, Edgewater College, also had a falling roll.
"The problem is that your energy then goes in to marketing to try and reverse the trend - so you can have more teachers and curriculum choice. It does seem strange that you are then using your budget to pay to compete with another state school. It's something we shouldn't be spending money on."
The limited statutory manager at Papakura, Alan Curtis, was optimistic. He said the school had been given a grant to help attract a quality, experienced principal, whose task would be to gradually rebuild.
A new principal is expected for the new year.
Mum ponders new school
Kyleigh Iopu Aso knows what it's like to wonder if you've sent your kids to the right school - she's been thinking about it a lot this year.
Kyleigh Iopu Aso, with her daughters Taela, 9, and Phoenix, wonders if Mt Albert Primary School was the right choice. Photo / Greg Bowker
Her three children attend Mt Albert Primary School in Auckland, a 400-pupil school at 88 per cent capacity. However, after the school received a poor Education Review Office report and several families left, she began to wonder if she should move her children to another school.
"We chose to send the kids there because my husband and his three siblings went there," Mrs Iopu Aso said. "But it's concerning when you see other parents leave and you think, 'why am I still here?'"
Mrs Iopu Aso is now thinking about sending her children to Gladstone Primary, which is at 120 per cent capacity and has close to 1000 students.
"It stands out to me as a place other people want to go," she said.
Mt Albert Primary School board chairman Jonathon Boow said he wasn't sure how many families had left, but the school was growing and had opened a new building this year.
"Perceptions in education are an interesting phenomenon and can long outlast what parents' complaints were about," he said.
Gladstone principal Dave Shadbolt said the school had always been popular, in part due to its proximity to Mt Albert Grammar school and high immigration.
The end of the year couldn't come soon enough at Rowandale School, where an influx of students means teachers are struggling with overcrowded classrooms.
Rhiley Pedersen, Sapphire Finau, Tnias Masoe, principal Karl Vasau and Agelu Malaesilia outside the unfinished classrooms. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Rowandale was one of a number of schools in Manurewa working over capacity this year, as families moved to find affordable housing.
Principal Karl Vasau said the school roll was at 620 - but it had room for only 480 kids. The school had shifted students to different classrooms to try to make do.
"The teachers have been resilient and amazing, but it has been stressful," he said, "particularly with the warmer weather and classes with lots of little bodies."
Mr Vasau said the ministry gave the school six relocatable classrooms at the start of term three, but they were not yet installed so the children could only look at them.
The contractors who needed to finish the classrooms were busy at another school, and he hoped the rooms would be ready for next year.
