Kelston Boys’ High School faces charter school takeover bid by community group Bewt

Kelston Boys' High won the final of the World Schools Rugby Festival in Abu Dhabi last year, highlighting its proud history of sporting achievement, the school says.

A prominent Auckland public school is publicly distancing itself from a hostile takeover bid seeking to “forcibly” convert it into a charter school.

Kelston Boys’ High School acting principal David Samuela posted an open letter to school parents today, saying the takeover attempt was “not affiliated with Kelston Boys’ High School”.

“Our senior leaders and staff do NOT believe that becoming a charter school is in the best interests of our students and community,” he said in the letter, adding he was “disappointed in the lack of transparency in this process”.

Siaosi Gavet, a former Kelston Boys’ board member, was named as the applicant in the charter takeover application.

The bid was backed by a sponsor called Bangerz Education and Wellbeing Trust (Bewt), which is a youth charity.

The Bewt website said it operated a youth hub in New Lynn and that its board was “made up of Pasifika and Māori youth who are under 25″.

It lodged an application this month to convert Kelston Boys’ to a charter school, saying if that was approved, it would complete the conversion and hire a new principal and leadership by January 2026, ready for the new school year.

Its unsolicited takeover was based on claims of deep academic failure at the school.

“Only 12.1% of [Kelston Boys’] Year 13 students were awarded University Entrance in 2024,” Bewt stated on its website.

However, Samuela said the school was making great strides, citing the school’s “highest-ever [NCEA] Level 3 pass rates” in 2024 and numerous national sports and cultural titles.

That included winning the World Schools Rugby Festival in Abu Dhabi and placings in Polyfest cultural categories, while the number of enrolled students was also growing, Samuela said.

He warned the bid was an “unnecessary distraction”.

“This proposal has come at the most crucial time for students and families with exams,” Samuela wrote in his open letter.

“We are very proud of the progress that has been made over recent years and the plans to continue to grow and improve for the future.”

If its charter school conversion application is successful, Bewt would manage the school.

The application said its running of the school would see a narrowed curriculum, staffing flexibility and reduced Ministry of Education interference to “dramatically increase student achievement”.

Existing staff would automatically become employees of the charter school under the same conditions, but teachers would no longer be covered by the collective agreement.

Bewt’s consultation report said emails in opposition have been received from around 40% of teachers and support staff.

“Please cease from emailing me concerning your proposal,” one staff response said.

“I am fully supportive of the achievements and direction of our school. Do not contact me again.”

The teachers’ union, the PPTA, has also told the trust it is “categorically opposed” to a plan to “forcibly” convert a public school to a charter school.

Bewt admitted it had not held public meetings to consult with parents, claiming there were fears supporters would face “retribution”.

However, it said it had held several “sideline, coffee-shop or mall” discussions with parents, and “the majority of parents just are not particularly concerned either way”.

If successful, the application would have to be approved in a process run by the Ministry of Education that required the Charter School Authorisation Board to consider the “level of support from the school community, school staff, and students” among other categories.

The Herald approached Kelston Boys’ High School and Siaosi Gavet for comment.