New classrooms announced for Rotorua: $21m invested in the Bay

Education Minister Chris Hipkins at Brookfield School. Photo / George Novak

A total of $21 million will be invested in the Bay of Plenty to help accommodate ongoing school roll growth.

The funding will help to build 35 more classrooms across the region for an extra 700 students.

Four of those classrooms will be built in Rotorua and will provide space for almost 80 extra students.

One classroom each for 22 extra students will be built at Ngongotaha School, Glenholme School and Whangamarino School.

Kea Street Specialist School will also get a new classroom for 10 extra students.

Sixteen million dollars will also be spent on relocating and expanding Brookfield School in Tauranga to provide capacity for 325 extra students.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced the Education Growth Plans for the region at Brookfield School on Tuesday. Hipkins said about 13,000 extra student places may be needed by 2030 – 10,000 of these in the Bay of Plenty.

"We need to make sure families in some of our fastest-growing areas around the country can be confident their local schools will have enough space for their kids," he said.

Addressing the students and staff at Brookfield Primary School, Hipkins said there were three things that made up good education.

"One is what you are learning about... two is having teachers who inspire you... and three is the quality of your classrooms," he said.

"That is why we are going to build a brand new school... and we are going to put another $21m into building classrooms for other schools around the Bay."