The Ministry of Education says it is still assessing suitable sites for a new secondary and an additional primary school in the Wakatipu, almost one year since deciding to begin the search.
Decisions on locations for the new schools would not be made until later this year, ministry spokesman Matt Radley said recently, in response to inquiries by the Queenstown Times.
It is 10 months since Education Minister Anne Tolley said the Government had decided "in principle" to build a new primary school between Queenstown and Arrowtown, to open in 2021.
Wakatipu High School would phase out years 7 and 8 in the next two years and the school "may also have to move to a new site in the future", she said at the time.
New trustees on the high-school board have said the decisions of where and when to relocate rest with the ministry.
The ministry expects the number of pupils in the Queenstown Lakes district to increase by more than 1000 by 2026 and says the existing schools will not be able to cope.
Meanwhile, the Environment Court appeal against the $3 million to $5 million primary school proposed at 478 Speargrass Flat Rd, near Arrowtown, is expected to be heard in Queenstown in early October.
The Catholic Education Office of the Diocese of Dunedin plans to establish the so-far unnamed school on Speargrass Flat Rd, which would teach up to 112 pupils, in stages.
It would become a second campus under the control of St Joseph's School, in Queenstown.
Consent with 22 conditions was granted in June 2009; however, 12 individuals, the Mill House Trust and Ayburn Farm Estates Ltd appealed on grounds including perceived traffic and noise increases and loss of amenity.
A group of 10 people, most of whom are Speargrass Flat Rd residents, are listed as interested parties.
