Education Minister Trevor Mallard has accepted a recommendation that Auckland Metropolitan College should close, and the school now has one last chance to present its case.
The college's board of trustees have 28 days to present the Government with any further arguments in favour of the school staying open, before the final decision is taken.
This weekend's announcement follows extensive consultation by the Ministry of Education.
Mr Mallard said he had carefully considered the views of all stakeholders, including the school and its community, other Auckland state secondary schools, and the local Mt Eden community.
"I acknowledge that there is considerable support for this school, and I want the school and its community to know that this decision was not made lightly.
"However, the State's primary responsibility is to provide a quality education to the young people of New Zealand.
"In this case, Auckland Metropolitan College has been given a great deal of support but unfortunately it has been unable to sustain significant improvements in the essential areas of learning and teaching and student attendance."
Mr Mallard said a final decision about the future of the school would be made after he had considered all of the information provided by the board of trustees.
In the event of the school closing at the end of the year, the Ministry of Education would work with the students and their families to find appropriate alternative education placements for the students in 2002.
In 1998 a decision on the closure of the school was deferred and the school was given two years to bring the college up to the standard required of all state schools and to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
The Education Review Office carried out a Discretionary Review in May 2001. In its report the ERO stated that despite considerable efforts of the board and the director, Auckland Metropolitan College was not providing good quality teaching or appropriate curriculum programmes across the school. The report stated that the school was 'not meeting the needs of its students'.
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