Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

New classrooms give Pillans Point School heart

By Allison Hess
Junior reporter - digital·Bay of Plenty Times·
11 Feb, 2017 02:11 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Students perform a haka at the opening of Pillans Point School's 8 new classrooms. Photo/Andrew Warner

Students perform a haka at the opening of Pillans Point School's 8 new classrooms. Photo/Andrew Warner

Students at Pillans Point School no longer have to learn in makeshift classrooms in their library and school hall.

Today eight new classrooms were officially opened at the school, with a student haka and Tauranga MP Simon Bridges in attendance.

A surge in population and roll numbers forced the school to hold classes in the library and school hall while waiting for new classrooms to be built.

Principal Matt Simeon said the new classrooms were a long time coming, about four years in the making from funding, planning and building.

"They give the school a bit of a heart again."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The school of 480 children had not been able to have a whole assembly for a long time.

"The kids have been resilient, for them it's like 'oh we learn in here now', but the staff are pretty excited - having waited for this for four years - about not having to teach in the school hall or library but in a modern learning environment."

The roll-funded eight new classrooms were in an open-plan building with a new entrance.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Though the classrooms meant students no longer had to learn in the library or hall, there was still more development to go, Mr Simeon said.

"We have a bit more work to do."

Four prefab classrooms on the school field were set up at the beginning of the project, and the plan was to remove them once the new classrooms were completed.

"They won't be going anywhere, we still require them. Our roll is still steadily growing; we had an additional 17 or 18 children we didn't know about put on the roll this year."

Mr Simeon expected the roll to be about 560 children by the end of the year.

"We've been growing at such a pace other schools in Tauranga are familiar with."

Today's opening ceremony included speeches by Mr Simeon, the board chairman and Mr Bridges, who had supported the project at various times.

Mr Bridges read the youngest students a story after the official opening.

Infrastructure lagging behind growth rates and demand was a major issue for many schools around Tauranga.

Tauranga Boys' College was having to use creative methods to find teaching spaces and Matua Primary School was growing at a rate which meant the school needed a new classroom each year.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The government has allocated $18 million for a new school in Pyes Pa for 650 students, and earmarked $2.5m for six new classrooms at schools in the region.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Sport

Sam Ruthe breaks NZ records in LA

Bay of Plenty Times

Tauranga's Sam Ruthe breaks two NZ records in LA

13 Jul 04:58 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Donations save school from brink of closure

13 Jul 12:01 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Sam Ruthe breaks NZ records in LA

Sam Ruthe breaks NZ records in LA

The 16-year-old Tauranga runner lowered his own national U17 and U18 1500m records at the Sound Running Sunset Tour in Los Angeles. Video / Athletics NZ

Tauranga's Sam Ruthe breaks two NZ records in LA

Tauranga's Sam Ruthe breaks two NZ records in LA

13 Jul 04:58 AM
Donations save school from brink of closure

Donations save school from brink of closure

13 Jul 12:01 AM
'Palpable grief': Motorcyclist who killed two people had 11 previous driving convictions

'Palpable grief': Motorcyclist who killed two people had 11 previous driving convictions

12 Jul 11:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP