Expansion of the University of Otago is being blamed for slipping numbers at Logan Park High School, one of six Otago schools facing their lowest rolls in a decade.
An Otago Daily Times survey of the region's secondary school rolls has revealed roll declines of nearly 30% in some schools, and one in five has recorded their lowest roll in more than a decade.
Despite an overall increase of about 1200 pupils in Otago, Kings High School, Logan Park High School, Queens High School, Roxburgh Area School, The Catlins Area School and Waitaki Girls High School all this week tallied their lowest rolls for the past decade.
East Otago High School, Kaikorai Valley College and Blue Mountain College recorded their second-lowest rolls since 1998. Logan Park High School recorded a roll of 705 pupils in the 1998 March roll return. At the beginning of this school year, however, its roll had dropped 18% to 580 pupils.
Principal Jane Johnson said the roll had been dramatically affected by the expansion of the University of Otago during the past decade.
Many of Logan Park High School's pupils used to come from Dunedin's Northeast Valley, but large parts of the residential areas where families lived were being turned into student flats as the university expanded, she said.
‘‘We used to have so many kids from Dundas St, but now you can forget it. They [the houses in Dundas St] are all student flats.''
Ms Johnson believed another factor contributing to the roll decline was the city's integrated schools. Although St Hildas Collegiate School, Kavanagh, John McGlashan and Columba colleges had caps placed on their rolls, during the past 10 years they had obtained government permission to significantly increase their roll limits.
Ms Johnson said Logan Park's roll now fluctuated between 550 and 600. Queens High School's roll had the most significant drop during the past 10 years. It dropped from 820 in 1998 to 580 this year - a 29% fall.
Acting principal Di Stewart said this year's roll was up on the school's predictions, but she believed the steady decline over the past decade may have been due to a decline in South Dunedin primary school rolls.
Mrs Stewart said there were more boys than girls in the city at the moment, and having more girls' schools in the city than boys' schools played its part.
Mrs Stewart was not concerned about the decline because it was common throughout New Zealand.
Roxburgh Area School's roll was 214 in 1998 and had remained steady - in the 180s - over the past 10 years. This year, however, it dropped to 173, the lowest since 1998.
Principal Gary Pasco attributed the recent decrease to ‘‘an unusual year'' in which five families unexpectedly left the area.
He was not concerned about the decline, because the school was a composite school which educated pupils from years 1 to 13. He said the present roll did not take into account the number of 5-year-olds enrolling during the year.
The survey showed 12 of Otago's 29 secondary schools recorded roll increases from last year and half of those schools posted their highest roll in the past decade.
The largest roll increases were at Mt Aspiring College (up 91%) and Wakatipu High School (up by 60%).
Mt Aspiring College acting deputy principal Jane Hamilton noted population growth around Wanaka and the school's positive reputation were driving the roll boost.
About 30 year-13 pupils from outside the region were boarding at the Mt Aspiring Hostel to study at the school.
