School's in for 59,000 on debut

Madelaine Oliver, 5, hides in the corner of her new classroom on her first day at Kristin School in Albany. Photo / Greg Bowker

This week will be a nervous one for the parents of the 59,000 children starting their first day of school.

Yesterday was the official start of the school year.

Pupils at Albany's Kristin School began arriving from 8am with anxious parents ushered out by 8.30am.

Fifty-one year 1 students were starting, most making the move from the onsite Kristin Kindergarten.

Teacher Jane Harker has a class of 17 year 1 girls and boys and said the hardest thing for the children was simply walking in the door.

"Everyone is very nervous and excited, it's a really important day meeting me and the other children," said Mrs Harker.

Yesterday was spent helping the children settle into their classroom, find their way around the school and get ready for the coming year.

Alison Oliver's daughter Madelaine spent some time at the school last year, but was still nervous about her big day.

"She's settled in quite nicely, she's more than ready for it," said Mrs Oliver.

Little Kate Stables started the day happy and excited but a stomach bug sent her off home earlier than expected.

Figures from the Ministry of Education show that 458,858 youngsters will be back at primary and intermediate this week and 280,769 high school students.