School feels growth pressure

Rapid population growth and new development is causing roll numbers to continue to skyrocket at Mangawhai Beach School.

In the past decade, the number of primary and intermediate students attending has more than doubled to over 600 this year and the Board of Trustees (BOT) is pushing the Ministry of Education to provide more classroom space as soon as possible.

A new block of 10 classes was completed and opened in 2021 and it was hoped that construction of another new block with a further eight teaching spaces would be started this year. However, ongoing delays have pushed the start date back to early 2024 at least, meaning continued use of temporary buildings on site.

BOT chair Luke Canton said the school currently had two portable classrooms, but that figure could rise to six to eight by the end of the year, which the board felt was unacceptable. He said the board and staff continued to lobby the Ministry for the necessary infrastructure to meet the growing demand for places.