Mission accomplished

Principal Dave Pauling said the decision followed three rounds of consultation, during which 100 per cent of families voted in favour of the expansion.

‘‘We started in 2013 along this journey. Our first application was declined because of the timing, the [Marlborough Boys’ and Girls’] college announcement [about co-location] hadn’t been made yet. The ministry asked us to wait and we did, we made our second application in 2016.

‘‘It has been a long time coming and I know the community will be celebrating.

‘‘But I think I’m one of those people who celebrates by saying, ‘what’s next?’’’

Building new classrooms was top of the list, Pauling said. Construction would be funded by attendance dues, paid by families.

Attendance dues were compulsory fees paid to a state-integrated school by a pupil’s family or caregivers, as required by the Ministry of Education.

He was undecided about whether classrooms would be traditional or flexible, but said they would be built to fit the teachers’ methods.

‘‘Classrooms should always be fit for purpose and steeped in good solid research and we’ve thought a lot about the process of how we want our kids to learn. The buildings will follow from that,’’ Pauling said.

‘‘But we know the main influence on kids is not the space they learn in, but the teachers.’’

The school would be separated into primary, middle and senior schools, and class sizes would stay at about 27 students or fewer, he said.

‘‘Our culture is so that I know all their names and I know their family situations, and we have as many wonderful teachers and teacher aides as possible.

‘‘The bigger schools get, the higher the chance children will fall through the cracks.

‘‘We will provide individual learning pathways for our kids and we’re