Families rally for Te Aute

A powhiri at Te Aute College yesterday welcomed nearly 20 new Year 9 students to join the school roll for 2011, some boys from families with no previous connections to the school.
Principal Piripi Blake said the support came from far and wide, as families outside Hawke's Bay rallied to keep the college's threat of closure at bay, with student numbers starting to creep back up.
"We are still getting new enrolments as we go through more interviews, but at the moment there are just over 20 new students - we are very happy with the support from these families," he said
Rongo Puketapu, from East Cape, said Maori immersion schools had always been a priority for her children's education, but her son, Te Muera, was the family's first at Te Aute.
"After everything that's happened at Te Aute, it's important we offer our support - not turn away."
By choosing Te Aute, Mrs Puketapu said she was choosing a better future for her son.
"I want him to channel not only his Pakeha side, but his Maori as well, so he has the best of both worlds - comfortable on a marae, and just as comfortable in a boardroom," she said.
Wellington man Arapeta Hakiwai said his family was fourth-generation at the school, with his third son starting this week.
"No matter where Te Aute students are, they are at the front," he said. "Some of the best Maori leaders and young leaders have come out of this school, and it's important for me that my sons are part of that."
Te Aute faced closure last year when a declining roll meant financial difficulties. Ministry of Education-appointed commissioner Elizabeth Ellis has since replaced the Board of Trustees, who stood down to save the school.