The Ministry of Education has released provisional roll data for 2019. Photo / File
The Ministry of Education has released provisional roll data for 2019. Photo / File
Most Rotorua schools have seen just small changes to their provisional student numbers, but one intermediate has seen an increase of almost 90 students.
The Ministry of Education has released provisional roll data for Rotorua schools in 2019. The numbers are an estimate and may change.
According to the figures, Kaitao Intermediate increased its roll by 88 students from a projected 265 in 2018 to a projected 353 in 2019.
However, principal Phil Palfrey said the numbers were slightly skewed because the 2018 actual roll was 320. He expected the actual roll in 2019 to be closer to 380.
Palfrey started at the school in the first half of 2017 and has made changes to the school logo, uniform, mission statement and values, among other things.
"I think the community appreciates the changes and feel that, apart from one or two isolated incidents, the kids are safe at school and they are doing a lot of learning while there. We're not perfect, there's a lot to do."
Palfrey said the school had also concentrated on boys' writing levels, offering a range of sports and kapa haka as well as restorative justice.
Kaitao Intermediate principal Phil Palfrey says he has made a lot of changes to the school. Photo / File
"It's quite hard for people to understand because people like to think people get punished but restorative justice is much more powerful."
A director of international students has also been hired at the school so the intermediate has attracted more Chinese and international students for 2019.
"I'm really pleased the parents have realised their local school is theirs. We do offer really good schooling and I'll be doing my darndest to make it the best school ever for our kids so they feel they are achieving."
The provisional rolls of almost all of the schools in Rotorua fluctuated up or down by 25 students or fewer.
The rolls that grew by more than 25 students were Kaingaroa Forest School, Ngongotahā School, Rotorua Boys' High School and Kaitao Intermediate.
The rolls that dropped by more than 25 were Otonga Rd School, Western Heights High School, Lynmore Primary School and Selwyn School.
Selwyn School saw the largest drop with a projected roll of 370 in 2019, down 98 students on 2017's 468.
But principal Peter Barker said the numbers weren't 100 per cent accurate.
The 2018 provisional roll of 468 differed from the actual roll of 399.
"What we faced at the beginning of this year was we had in excess of 40 students expecting to return that actually left the district.
"However our new entrant numbers have remained pretty strong. We've got a relationship with preschools. Overall our school is in pretty good shape and student achievement is good."
Barker said the roll at Selwyn School was "settled" but fluctuations were attributable to the "transient nature of the western side of town", large Year 6 cohorts leaving the school at the end of the year, and pupils moving out of town.
Rotorua Principals' Association president Rawiri Wihapi said one of the main reasons rolls fluctuated was a transient population.
"You also might have schools going well so parents want their children to move to that school."
Mokoia Intermediate principal Rawiri Wihapi is the president of the Rotorua Principals' Association. Photo / Stephen Parker
Wihapi's school Mokoia Intermediate has a 2019 provisional roll of 346, up 25 on 2018's provisional figure of 321.
"We've taken about 15 away from that to get 330.
"I know we'll probably be at 315 ... but we may go up because we've done a lot of promotion."
"Our predicted roll is 142 Year 7s. That's pretty awesome because this year we started at 140 and 2019 was supposed to be a year of reduction because our contributing schools had fewer numbers."
Like last year, Western Heights High School is projected to have the highest roll with 1317 students.
Despite being the largest primary school, with a projected roll of 626, Lynmore Primary School was projecting a 49-student reduction in its roll.
According to the figures, Kaingaroa Forest School, south-west of Rotorua, increased its roll almost five-fold from 2017 to 2019.
Provisional roll data from 2017 showed the school had 11 students, this increased to 26 in 2018 and in 2019 the school is expecting 54 students.
