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Home / Northern Advocate

Government funds Kerikeri High School rebuild with 12 new classrooms

Yolisa Tswanya
Yolisa Tswanya
Deputy news director·Northland Age·
4 May, 2026 09:30 PM3 mins to read
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Work on redevelopment that will give Kerikeri High 12 replacement classrooms is expected to start within the next six months.

Work on redevelopment that will give Kerikeri High 12 replacement classrooms is expected to start within the next six months.

After years of having to make do with ageing classrooms, Kerikeri High School is in line for a significant rebuild. Twelve new classrooms and major site upgrades have been confirmed under a multi-billion-dollar government schools investment.

The school is among six nationwide to benefit from a $56.6 million infrastructure package, part of the Government’s wider $2 billion push to modernise classrooms across the country.

Education Minister Erica Stanford and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop announced the package this week. It will redevelop 52 teaching spaces at six schools across the country.

For Kerikeri High the investment will deliver 12 replacement classrooms, remove an ageing block affected by asbestos, upgrade courts and improve the school’s sewage system.

Principal Mike Clent said the upgrade was long overdue and marked a significant step forward for the school.

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“We have old prefabs that are about 40 to 50 years old. We have taken good care of them, but they are past their use-by date.”

“This is really a modernisation programme rather than roll growth. As a school we have been waiting a really long time for this, and we are excited to finally see it happening.”

Clent said the new classrooms will initially house the maths department and will be built on the netball courts, meaning disruption to teaching will be kept to a minimum.

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“We won’t have to rehome classes. The only disruption will be the construction itself, which is a really positive outcome for us.”

The latest announcement builds on Stanford’s October commitment, for four additional roll growth classrooms, bringing the total new teaching spaces to 16.

The Government said the investment was aimed at addressing long-standing infrastructure issues and ensuring students learn in warm and safe environments.

Sanford said the redevelopments were part of a broader effort to tackle years of underinvestment in school property.

“After years of undelivered promises, we have prioritised school infrastructure to get school communities the classrooms, upgrades and maintenance work they have long waited for.”

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Bishop said increased use of standardised designs and offsite manufacturing helped reduce costs and speed up delivery.

“Through Budget ’24 and ’25, we increased funding for school maintenance work by $880 million. This more than doubled the maintenance funding increases in the previous six years combined,” Bishop says.

“We’ve significantly reduced the average cost of a classroom by increasing the use of offsite manufactured builds and repeatable designs, and delivered 583 classrooms last year alone, 31% more than in 2023.

“That means more classrooms, delivered faster, providing better learning environments for our kids and better value for taxpayers.”

He said work was set to begin in the next six months.

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