Developing a Growth Strategy
Future Education Planning – Wakatipu Basin
10 Year Strategy
Our current growth planning provision is outlined in the table below. This has been assessed by looking at
projections for specific school areas, and assessing the potential for current school sites to meet demand. We
expect this to cater for ongoing school age population growth for at least 10 years.
State School
Current capacity
Short/medium
term capacity
Longer term
capacity
Arrowtown School
590
700
850
Remarkables Primary School
590
630
590
Shotover Primary School
460
650
900
Queenstown School
690
800
950
Wakatipu High School (relocated site)
N/A
1200
1800
Land is also being sought for further primary provision. We expect any new primary schooling in the area will
be designed to cater for a further 700 Year 1-8 students.
Integrated Schools
There are also two state-integrated schools in the wider district:


St Joseph’s School (current maximum roll of 175)
KingsView School (current maximum roll of 100)
The Wakatipu Area Strategy Plan 2009 included the following key principle:
“The rolls of state integrated schools in the area to be allowed to increase in response to the
increased numbers of students whose parents elect this form of education for their children.”
We expect this commitment to be included in the future growth strategy and will continue to
work with Proprietors to achieve this.
As part of a longer term growth strategy, consideration beyond this is needed. This will help us ascertain the
direction the network of schooling could go, whether further sites for education are needed, and if structural
changes to schooling across the network are needed.
This document has been developed for discussion purposes only, based on current policy and legislation that is subject to change.
The views do not represent Government policy or preferences.
Developing a Growth Strategy - November 2016
http://www.education.govt.nz/future-education-provision-for-the-wakatipu-basin-area
Looking Further: 10-20 Year Planning
We would like to the community to consider, at this stage, 3 possible models. Please note these have been
outlined for discussion purposes and may not be the options implemented. Each model contains a primary
and secondary component – which are inter-dependent, and need to be considered jointly.
Primary
Secondary
Model 1
Continue with Year 1-8 full primary schools
and establish more, if needed, to support
future population growth
Grow Year 9-13 secondary provision across
2 sites (could be 2 schools)
Model 2
Change primary schools to Years 1-6.
Change secondary to Year 7-13; and
establish additional secondary school
Maintain the current number of primary
schools (including new provision)
Model 3
Change primary schools to Years 1-6.
Maintain the current number of primary
schools (including new provision)
Create a Year 7-10 middle school and a
Year 11-13 senior secondary school.


Located in a similar geographic area
or,
Located in 2 separate geographic
areas
Integrated primary schools may remain Year 1-8. Any changes would require amendments to
individual Integration Agreements, and be agreed to by the Minister of Education and the Proprietor.
Community views – what we are interested in hearing from you:
In considering future models, we would be interested in your views about how these models fit when
considered with community preferences.
A key theme that came through all engagement was the importance of community:
“Discussion of community tended to focus on ongoing population growth, and a desire
that future education provision should reinforce rather than lessen community growth.”
Key community preferences outlined during the initial phase of engagement in July 2016 were:
COMMUNITY PREFERENCES
 Respondents rated access to the natural environment as a highly important feature of education
provision in the Wakatipu area, with digital learning rated highly for older age groups.
 Green space was rated as the most important feature of school campuses for primary-aged
students, followed by indoor spaces for use during break times and hall space. Specialist science and
technology facilities were rated as the most important feature of secondary campu ses.
 Respondents who indicated a preference for schooling with a particular character or focus most
frequently selected schooling for students with special education needs, and schooling for students who
are gifted and talented.
This document has been developed for discussion purposes only, based on current policy and legislation that is subject to change.
The views do not represent Government policy or preferences.
Developing a Growth Strategy - November 2016
http://www.education.govt.nz/future-education-provision-for-the-wakatipu-basin-area
Questions for consideration:
Will these models reinforce a sense of community?
Will some of these models enable a better connection to the environment, particularly if more localised
schooling enables opportunities for walking or cycling?
Are there other community values or highly important features of education that these models will constrain?
The Ministry is interested in your general views about potential structural models. Information gathered
during this process will need to be balanced alongside other planning information that will enable future
provision to be developed in a cohesive way.
Any changes to current schooling structures will require formal consultation and evaluation closer to the time
of implementation. This could be 10 or more years away. We need to be careful that we are not making all
future decisions based on current views and information, as communities can change and adapt, as could
possible education models and structures. However, we need to have some sense of the general direction
we are heading, to ensure we are equipped to manage change if and when it is needed.
We are interested in how these models are generally perceived – are there any strong views for or against
options for growth that we can factor into the advice and guidance we provide.
For further information, comments or questions please
contact:
[email protected]
This document has been developed for discussion purposes only, based on current policy and legislation that is subject to change.
The views do not represent Government policy or preferences.
Developing a Growth Strategy - November 2016
http://www.education.govt.nz/future-education-provision-for-the-wakatipu-basin-area