By REBECCA WALSH education reporter
Fourteen students mistakenly offered places at Auckland Grammar School must now wait to see if they can stay.
A report commissioned by the Ministry of Education has found that 14 boys living outside the school's enrolment zone were offered places despite their not meeting new enrolment criteria.
The report by consultant Tony Cross found six were accepted because of a family relationship - in most cases their father was an old boy. Another four lived in streets near the zone. The remaining four, including a recipient of a Sir Henry Cooper Scholarship "for deserving boys," lived well outside the zone.
Board of trustees chairman Robert Kirkpatrick said the school was working with the ministry to find a way for the 14 to stay.
"The view on both sides is we need to find a way of not disadvantaging those students.
"We are working towards an outcome where they will be enrolled for 2001."
The Auckland senior manager for the ministry, Katherine Percy, said it would have to look at the extent to which students would be disadvantaged by the school's error if their places were withdrawn. A decision was expected within a week.
The school had been in a unique position, with the short time between finalising the home zone and completing the ballot process, along with the large number of applications, she said.
The report said the board had taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the addresses given by applicants were correct, but problems included situations where parents were separated and it was stated that the son was living with the home-zone parent, or where there was an intention to move into the zone.
Jackie Blacklock, whose son did not get a place because the family live outside the zone, said that while she sympathised with the students, letting them stay would make a mockery of the process.
"It's another way of the school saying, 'We have won. We will choose who we want to choose'."
Dr Kirkpatrick, asked whether the 14 students were top scholars or athletes, said he did not know. But he said it was incorrect that one of the students was the son of a trustee.
Three of the 14 were the sons of board employees.
Dr Kirkpatrick said the school had erred in awarding the scholarship to an out-of-zone student when it was aware of the new legislation. But the ministry report noted that the scholarship was specifically for out-of-zone boys.
Future uncertain for the Grammar 14
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