Supporters adamant M¯aori school has future

A commissioner and an ‘‘old boy’’ of Ma¯ ori high school Hato Petera College are committed to ensuring it has a future, despite a roll of four students and a critical ERO report.

Lex Hamill, the recently appointed commissioner of the school, and old boy Dr Lance O’Sullivan, wished to see action and improvement on the school’s viability.

Although O’Sullivan, a Northland doctor, no longer had an active role in the school, since Te Whanau o Hato Petera Trust dissolved, he said he still wanted to be involved in the school’s future.

‘‘I am committed to ensuring Hato Petera will not go off into the night.’’

O’Sullivan said it was time to start talking about solutions for Hato Petera, rather than dwelling on its struggles. ‘‘Let’s have some action.’’

A recent report by the Education Review Office, which said it had not been assured the former boarding school was able to offer quality, sustainable education for its Year 9 to 13 Ma¯ ori students, could be considered an opportunity for the school to ‘‘stop and reflect’’ and consider a new model of education, O’Sullivan said.

Hamill, Hato Petera’s commissioner, shared a similar view and said the narrative in the news needed to move away from talk of closure.

‘‘I think it’s unhelpful for comments about closure to be the first sentence of discussion every time Hato Petera makes the news.’’

He said his job was to make sure the school remained operational.

Despite starting the 2018 school year with only five students, which had since reduced to four, Hamill said Hato Petera was not the only ‘‘iconic Ma¯ori school’’ struggling.

‘‘If you look across the country, Hato Petera isn’t alone. The iconic Ma¯ori boarding schools of the

‘‘I am committed to ensuring Hato Petera will not go off into the night’’

Dr Lance O'Sullivan

past, many of them are struggling. So it is not standing alone there.’’

Hamill said the closure of the school’s boarding facilities in late 2016 and its subsequent reclassification as a day school had affected the roll and special character of Hato Petera.

Despite this, parents, old boys and staff remained ‘‘forever hopeful’’ Hato Petera’s situation would improve, he said.

‘‘At the end of the day it’s the parents who opt to send their children to our school.’’

ZIZI SPARKS/FAIRFAX NZ Hato Petera College may have opened its doors to five students in 2018, but the school’s commissioner and an old boy are determined to see its struggles end.