Auckland schools warn they risk being swamped with thousands of new students without the necessary classrooms after authorities revealed high-rise apartments up to 15 storeys could be built in some school zones.
The Auckland Council this week unveiled a plan to build two million more homes by allowing bigger buildings near train stations and transport hubs, and greater intensification across much of the city.
Councillors said they were strong-armed into the changes by members of Parliament keen to see houses built at pace.
School principals now fear a rush to haphazard development could leave students without adequate classroom facilities as rolls swell.
Manurewa High School principal Pete Jones said his school was already short at least 11 classrooms and also in need of refurbishment. He said the school’s development masterplan had been put on hold.
However, no money had been put aside for new classrooms at the school by the Government, Jones said.
“Our official capacity is 2200 and we’re operating at 2300 [students] … yet we are not on the list to get any additional classroom spaces next year."
The intensification concerns come as many Auckland schools have increasingly come under pressure from rising student numbers triggered by immigration and infill housing.
The Coalition Government recently passed legislation directing councils across the country to make room for more housing.
While the Auckland Council’s Unitary Plan had allowed for 900,000 new homes, the Government demanded councillors more than double that capacity.
But council density plans, unveiled this week, have sparked concerns in some quarters that growth could outstrip infrastructure and lead to crowded roads, new homes without water connections and crammed schools.
Education Minister Erica Stanford announced in July the Government would spend $120 million building new Auckland classrooms to cater for 3000 extra students and that two new schools would be built in the city’s south.
But many principals fear the measures don’t go far enough.
The country’s biggest school, Rangitoto College, announced earlier this year that for the first time it would not be accepting students living outside its allocated zone.
Other schools have signalled similar restrictions in response to rising demand.
In Manurewa, Jones said his school previously signed off on a development master plan. But with the change of government, the school was instead told to look for cheaper alternatives.
The school was yet to receive a budget for new classrooms and was teaching students in buildings formerly earmarked for demolition that it didn’t have money to refurbish, Jones said.
Simon Craggs, principal of Papakura High School, said new townhouses and apartments in his school’s zone had led to an influx of 300 additional students in the last two years.
With the school located close to Papakura train station – which could become the centre of new development – he said student numbers were likely to grow even faster in the future.
Despite that, he said the school’s development masterplan stalled in a recent meeting with education authorities.
“We’re bursting at the seams. We’re literally teaching kids in the library and the hall to try and fit them in,” Craggs said.
Patrick Drumm, head of New Zealand’s second biggest school, Mount Albert Grammar (MAGS), said his team wouldn’t be receiving new classrooms in 2026.
It hit 3750 students this year and is on a fast track to 4000, he said.
His school zone took in Kingsland, which is on the new City Rail Link line, and was now planned to go from being a largely low-rise suburb to one of the new hubs allowing 15-storey developments.
Drumm described what was envisaged as “ginormous” and triple the size of the biggest apartment blocks currently built in the zone.
“Where are these kids going to go?” he asked.
Drumm said principals increasingly felt they would have to solve the growth problem themselves.
He and a collection of principals from New Zealand’s largest schools recently travelled to Queensland to meet with big Australian schools to learn how they had coped.
MAGs was due to elect a new school board soon and Drumm tipped big schools would increasingly target members with high-level management or property industry experience to help guide principals.
“This is going to be the big, strategic challenge right in front of the new board for the next three years … how we manage growth effectively."
Drumm said individual school development could also be viewed as a microcosm for wider city growth.
Schools needed to plan and build thoughtful, purpose-built buildings rather than having prefab classrooms rushed in and dropped on sports ovals or green spaces.
Students needed to be in places where they wanted to learn and succeed, he said.
“The real thing that drives your school success is your school culture.”
Manurewa High School’s Jones agreed.
He was desperate to build a school environment that reflected the unique and vibrant multicultural community surrounding his school.
But he was worried that over-development could create a “reactive” change where schools were left fighting for resources and funding dollars.
The Ministry of Education was approached but unable to provide comment by deadline.