Upset parents insist they're not zone cheats

Some of the 51 pupils Auckland Grammar has ordered out this year have been at the school for up to four years. Picture / Martin Sykes

Parents of students ordered to leave Auckland Grammar say the school has unjustly labelled them cheats and is applying its enrolment policy too stringently and unfairly.

About 23 boys whose enrolments were annulled in July have until today to leave the school, but some are still waiting to hear the results of their appeals to the Ministry of Education.

The boys are among a total of 51 students Grammar has told to go this year. Some have been at the school for up to four years, but have been told to leave because their parents have moved out of the school zone.

The legal guardian and aunt of one said she was angry Grammar had accused her and other parents of cheating the enrolment scheme.

Although she lived in South Auckland, she said, her nephew and his sister both lived with her husband and daughter in Newmarket, and have done for the past two years, but the school refused to believe that.

Today is supposed to be the Year 12 student's last day at the school, but they are still waiting to hear whether their appeal has been successful.

She said she was willing to take the case to the High Court if necessary.

She said the school asked the boy where he lived after it noted he often arrived at school late.

The family had provided information to back his right to be there, but Grammar had annulled his enrolment anyway a month ago.

"We responded fully. We also asked if they needed further information.

"The board met and made a decision pursuant to a statute without even giving us the chance to speak."

The guardian said they were Samoans.

"There are very few Samoans living in the area and I wonder why they were scrutinised.

"Is it just we don't look right, living in the centre of the city and going to central Auckland schools?

"That does tend to pop up in my mind. Is it because we shouldn't be there, that we should be on the South side only."

Headmaster John Morris would not discuss the case, but said it was not usual for parents to appear before the board, although written statements and information on each case was given to the board.

The Herald spoke to parents of three other affected boys, who denied they had lied or tried to cheat the system but believed the school was applying its enrolment policy unfairly.

They refused to speak out in case it jeopardised their cases.

Mr Morris said there was no option but to enforce the policy strictly until the law was clarified. He said the school's ideal size was 2000 students, but since the year 2000 zoning had pushed that to more than 2500.


School zoning

The law says

* Under Section 11 of the Education Act, when students first enrol at a school they must not use a "temporary residence" or a false address to gain entry. If the school board believes they have, it can annul the enrolment.

* It is up to the board of each school to decide how long a family must remain in a house before they are no longer considered "temporary" and the child is considered "safe" at the school.

How Grammar applies it

* This year, Grammar has taken a hard line on the provision, after employing a fulltime enrolments registrar to investigate rorts.

* If a family move out of zone at any stage during their son's time at the school, it triggers the annulment procedures because Grammar views the home they have left as having been a "temporary residence".

* Other schools, such as Rangitoto College, allow students to remain at the school if their parents move out of the zone after two or three years.