No joy for Fenwick school in classroom quest
FENWICK School has had ‘‘no positive vibes’’ from the Ministry of Education in its threeyear fight for a new classroom, principal Rodney McLellan says.
The Arun St school has needed a new classroom since 2015, and has taken measures to squeeze in a growing number of pupils.
In 2016 a third of the school’s library was walled off to create a temporary classroom when it split its new entrants class in half.
Further measures would be introduced next term at the 315pupil school, when an additional 15 pupils were expected to join its roll.
‘‘We’re still in that situation where our library is still upstairs in the hall, and we’re using what should be our library as a classroom.
‘‘We’ve got too many kids in our new entrants class, so we are about to split that next term, but that means we’re going to have to use the meeting room in the hall as a classroom during the day. It’s not ideal having a class down in the hall rather than up here with the rest of the school,’’ Mr McLellan said.
That would affect the school’s afterschool and gifted and tal ented pupil programme, as well as its weekly Mandarin class, which were all held in the hall meeting room.
In a statement, Ministry of Education deputy secretary of sector enablement and support Katrina Casey said the ministry was aware that there had been roll growth in the Oamaru area, and had been working with schools to address the issue, including Fenwick School.
‘‘We secure funding through the budget process each year to expand schools in areas of growth. This funding must be prioritised nationally to assist schools facing the greatest accommodation pressures.
‘‘Roll growth does not always lead to a new classroom. We first need to consider projected growth, capacity of the local network, and whether an enrolment scheme can be amended to help the school manage its numbers.
‘‘When a property solution is appropriate, we first look to help schools make better use of their existing infrastructure. We also may need to use interim measures . . . until a longterm, sustainable property solution can be delivered.’’
She said property projects were funded based on the numbers of inzone students schools have.
According to the ministry, as of March the school had 21 outofzone pupils.
‘‘Taking students from beyond the catchment can create capacity pressure for schools and surplus capacity in neighbouring schools.’’