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A top Auckland school that does not offer te reo Maori classes is being urged to develop policies and practices that better reflect the country's bicultural heritage.
A new Education Review Office report on Auckland Grammar - a decile 10 school in the upmarket suburb of Epsom -
was overall positive, saying the school maintained high standards and that many of its senior students reached the highest levels of academic success.
But in its evaluation of the achievement of Maori students, an area the ERO routinely assesses in its regular three-yearly examinations of schools, the report highlighted offering te reo Maori classes as an area for improvement.
It said parents were entitled to request the option and Maori students interviewed expressed interest in studying te reo Maori if the opportunity arose.
University of Auckland's faculty of education associate dean Maori Tony Trinick told the Herald it was unusual for a school of Auckland Grammar's size to not offer it as a subject.
But headmaster John Morris said there had never been a demand from the community for te reo Maori. If there was, he said a nationwide shortage of specialist Maori language teachers would cause problems.
"Language teaching at best is very, very poorly staffed around the country.
"There's absolutely no way in the world we would be able to get enough teachers to be able to do that. We struggle to get French and Spanish teachers."
The report said 75 students of the almost 2400 on the school's roll were Maori, or about 3 per cent.
Those interviewed expressed pride in their school, made good academic progress and this year's head boy, talented athlete Tama Toki, was "a highly respected Maori prefect", the report said.
The school had worked with local iwi Ngati Whatua for several years and together were looking at how to increase Maori student enrolment.
The report said the school's Treaty of Waitangi policy should be updated and its board of trustees should develop policies and practices that better reflected the country's bicultural heritage.
Mr Morris said it was up to the board to update the Treaty of Waitangi section in the charter, which remained unchanged since it was written in the early 1990s.
The report concluded: "High expectations, a tradition of rigorous assessment, and a culture that rewards achievements support the school's emphasis on excellence."
