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Upset parents are petitioning to extend the zone of Mt Albert Grammar School.
Mother of two Belinda Fellowes said her Willcott St home was in the zone when she bought it a decade ago - but she was surprised to discover when she tried to enrol son Guy, 13, this year it had been cut out.
"I said, 'How can I not be in zone? I can virtually see the school'," she said.
She wanted her son to join his friends going to the nearby secondary school next year.
Ms Fellowes said her home was zoned for Avondale College but it was further away and required crossing several busy streets to get to.
The school's enrolment officer told her the quirk was "a nightmare" that had gone on for several years.
"There was one family who lived 2km from the school and were moving 8km away to get in the zone. It's madness." Zones - or enrolment schemes as they are officially known - are notoriously controversial and can boost house prices in areas of desirable state schools.
Most schools have balloted out-of-zone places which families living out of area can apply for.
Mt Albert Grammar School headmaster Dale Burden said the school asked the Ministry of Education in May to consider amending its zone. The affected area was a pocket of 15 small streets between Unitec and New North Rd.
The Ministry of Education's northern regional manager of network provision, Ray Webb, said the school's board of trustees needed to consult residents and nearby schools. The process was required before the ministry considered any proposed amendment to the school's zone.
Applications for out-of-zone students for all Auckland schools close on September 5 and the ballots are to be held on September 15.
