Parents make last-minute try for places

The first day of the academic year was marred for some schools by a rush of parents desperate to get their child a last-minute spot.

But principals were divided on whether late enrolments are a serious problem. Some say they lead to disrupted classes and timetables, but others argue they are a fact of schooling and need to be managed.

The issue has been brought a head by Auckland Grammar, which has said it will not take new enrolments, after 80 late applications disrupted timetables.

Education Minister Steve Maharey said the Government could consider a cut-off date for enrolments if there were enough complaints.

That was backed by some schools yesterday. At Rangitoto College, deputy principal Alison Cleland said late enrolments put school and staff under "tremendous pressure".

She expected there would be up to 100 potential new students trying to get on the roll.

Enrolment schemes guarantee children the right to attend their local school, but some schools struggle with false in-zone claims.

Annette Sharp, principal at Epsom Girls Grammar, said it had received late applications for the past three years and had incorporated such an occurrence in planning.

"We have a rigorous process to validate residency," she said. "The number of late students is not something we can't accommodate."

Lynfield College principal Steve Bovaird said that at Year 9 alone there were almost 30 late enrolments but it was not a major problem.

A Ministry of Education spokesman said there was no central data on late enrolments.

He said the ministry was working with Auckland Grammar.

"We are not aware of any students genuinely in the zone who have missed out on a place."

A report recommending zones be abolished has been slammed by the primary teachers union.

Irene Cooper, head of NZEI, said the report by conservative think-tank Maxim called for policies that had been tried and failed.

The National Government scrapped zones in 1991, but the move did not give parents more choice.

"Instead it led to schools cherrypicking the students they considered the best and the brightest, and led to over-crowded classrooms."