Co-ed college choice may be lost

Plans to zone the only co-ed high school in Nelson has raised the prospect some parents in the city will have to send their child to a single sex school.

Nayland College principal Daniel Wilson said the mixed gender school, in the suburb of Stoke, was near capacity, and would implement an enrolment zone sometime next year.

Stoke was a growing area, with new homes being built, and younger families moving in as old people left, he said.

‘‘We’ll hit capacity for sure next year. We just don’t have the classrooms to cope with any more students.’’

The 1330 student capacity school is one of three high schools in Nelson city.

The others are all boys school, Nelson College, and all girls school, Nelson College for Girls.

The mother of a transgender student who switched to Nayland College from a single sex college this year, said her child’s needs were not being met at the single sex school.

She was concerned for other parents of non-binary children in Nelson if they no longer had the option of choosing a co-ed school.

‘‘Changing schools is tough, but not having a school to go to is tougher.’’

Wilson said the school would put questions about the school’s co-ed status and whether there were any exceptions in zoning rules for transgender students to ministry representatives, at the school’s next board meeting on June 24.

The school board had yet to discuss with the Ministry of Education what the new zone ‘‘might look like’’, he said.

‘‘If it’s the same as any other zone in New Zealand ... if they [families] wanted a co-ed option, and they lived in Nelson city, they’d currently be excluded.

Even with the zone, the school would be over capacity within the next couple of years, and extra classrooms would be required at some point, Wilson said.

The Ministry said no formal request had been made to Nayland College regarding implementing an enrolment zone.

As a result, no home zone had been identified, acting deputy secretary, sector enablement and support Helen Hurst said.

‘‘The college’s roll has increased over recent years, an enrolment scheme was discussed with the college in late 2019 as a mechanism of managing this trend to ensure there is space for local students at the college.’’

The ministry said any demand for new classrooms at Nayland would firstly be managed through the proposed enrolment zone.

‘‘Changing schools is tough, but not having a school to go to is tougher.’’

Mother of a Nayland College student