Neighbouring Dunedin primary schools are collaborating on a school zoning scheme designed to limit enrolments and keep classrooms numbers down.
Andersons Bay School principal Hamish McDonald said significant roll growth was putting the Dunedin primary schools - Andersons Bay School, Grants Braes School, Musselburgh School and Tainui School - under pressure.
The pressure spurred the schools' boards of trustees to collaborate and consult with the Ministry of Education to implement enrolment schemes to avoid overcrowding of classrooms.
Between May 23 and the end of the school year, Andersons Bay had about five spaces available for children starting school who lived outside the school zone, he said.
From May 23, anyone living outside the zone wanting to enrol at the school for year 1 needed to submit an enrolment form and covering letter to enter a ballot for the spaces.
Some pupils had already entered the ballot, he said.
Grants Braes School principal Gareth Taylor said his school implemented a scheme about mid-December last year to mange this year's roll.
The school had no room for pupils living outside its zone, Mr Taylor said.
Tainui School principal Shelley Wilde said the school had had an enrolment scheme since July 2005 to control the number of pupils enrolling.
The ‘‘management tool'' prevented overcrowding, Mrs Wilde said.
Tainui collaborated with the other schools to ensure pupils in the wider area were not disadvantaged, she said.
The ministry wanted to use excess capacity at surrounding schools rather than building new classrooms at crowded schools.
Without an enrolment scheme, a school could not legally refuse a child wanting to enrol.
‘‘I turned children away this year to keep the number of children at a suitable level for the size of the school. It's the only legal mechanism you have,'' Mrs Wilde said.
Musselburgh School principal Debbie Smith was unavailable for comment.
Ministry head of sector enablement and support Katrina Casey said the co-ordination of enrolment schemes by the four schools to address the risk of overcrowding of classrooms was working well.
‘‘This ensures that pupils are able to attend a local school that is reasonably convenient to where they live.''
About a third of New Zealand's schools had enrolment schemes.
In Dunedin, there were 21 schools with enrolment schemes and the ministry was working with King's High School to implement a scheme.
The ministry monitored school rolls and considered if a school was close to its capacity. If so, the ministry investigated if an enrolment scheme would be a useful tool to address the issue.
‘‘Sometimes schools bring up the issue of possible overcrowding, but often it is a result of a discussion we have with boards about their enrolment trends and future projections,'' Ms Casey said.
Roll call
Anderson's Bay School: 297 pupils
Grants Braes School: 209 pupils
Musselburgh School: 173 pupils
Tainui School: 284 pupils
Enrolment scheme
● Will not affect pupils already enrolled.
For children who have not yet enrolled the scheme means:
● If pupils live in the zone of a school, they will have the right to enrol at the school.
● If pupils live outside the zone, they will only be able to enrol at the school if there are places available in their year group.
● If more children wish to enrol than there are places available, pupils will be selected according to set criteria.
