A full school photo: Low numbers continue at Hawke's Bay's biggest schools

Napier Boys High School teacher Rachel Hammond with 7 of the 8 pupils and two other staff members currently at the school. Photo / Paul Taylor

The number of students in class in Hawke's Bay remains low in the second week of alert level 3, so much so that it's a great time for a full school photo.

Data from the Ministry of Education shows that 56 per cent of schools in the Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti region were open on Monday and just 822 students attended, 3 per cent of total roll numbers.

This was an increase of just 1 per cent on Friday's numbers.

Napier Boys' High School which usually has a roll of about 1150 now has about eight students attending classes.

Students attending are still using online classes and learning with their other peers but do so from school classrooms.

They have two teachers on site who can also assist with learning.

"They are getting a lot done which they may not have got done at home.

The school had originally prepared for 40 students and expected about 15 students would return so low numbers were a "surprise" and something school principal Matt Bertram thinks has been experienced around the country.

Bertram said it is understandable that parents are keeping students at home but thinks everyone will be looking forward to when pupils return.

"At the end of the day it's a people game, teaching, it's about relationships.

"I certainly think people learn better when they have the interaction with the teacher, that might be online, but it's about balance, there's an immediacy in the classroom.

Similarly, Napier Girls' High School which has a roll of 1042 had three students on Monday.

The school has one teacher on site and a senior leadership team of four.

Havelock North High School has no students attending classes at the school as all have opted to continue online lessons, Principal Greg Fenton said.

Flaxmere Primary School has a roll of 440 students but so far only six have attended.

Hastings Intermediate had 11 students out of 425 in attendance, down from 13 on Friday.

All of the schools don't expect students to be returning until the country drops to level 2.

Decisions around what level 2 will mean for schools and the country are expected this week.
Early childhood education centres are also still seeing low numbers in the Hawke's Bay, Tairawhiti region.

In the region 33 per cent of ECEs had children on site today: 474 children attended which is 5 per cent of the total roll. This was an increase of 1 per cent on Friday.