PM announces funding for new classes

In a light-hearted presentation from Prime Minister Bill English, North Shore pupils were told their school is getting funding to build new classrooms.

Long Bay Primary School is surrounded by building work with the 2500-strong Long Bay housing development.

Principal Linda Barton says the growth will see the school roll increase from its current 350 pupils to up to 800 in 10 years.

The $3.8 million new classroom block will create six new classrooms over two storeys, ensuring playground space is maximised.

When English announced the funding on March 1 to an assembly of pupils and parents with the noise of diggers in the background - he used the opportunity to share a bit of his own schooling.

‘‘These will be modern classrooms, a bit different to where I went to school.

‘‘I can still remember when they brought at TV in. Most of us had never seen a TV. They brought it in so we could watch men, the astronauts, landing on the moon,’’ he said.

‘‘Of course, you kids have technology that means you can see everything and know everything straight away. When you’re teenagers that’s going to be a bit tough on your parents,’’ he said, to laughs from parents.

English also reflected on his own family life.

‘‘We have six occasionally that

‘‘These will be modern classrooms, a bit different to where I went to school.’’

Prime Minister Bill English

kids and feels a bit stretched. It makes me appreciate how teachers get up in the morning and go off to school and look after 30 of someone else’s kids.’’

When asked by one student how he became prime minister, English candidly replied he was ‘‘a bit lucky’’ and he was hoping no one would notice the change from John Key.

‘‘We had a very good prime minister called John Key … He left, which is unusual, and I was next,’’ he said.

English acknowledged the astuteness of the young pupils, who all quickly raised their hands when asked if they had heard of President Trump: ‘‘You know things are changing when six and seven-year-olds have opinions about American politics,’’ he said.

The new Long Bay Primary School project will be fast-tracked to finish in July 2018, when a further development will kick off, Barton says.

Bill English is greeted at Long Bay by pupils speaking other languages, including Piper Kingi-Smith (te reo), Nina Camons (Afrikaans) and Elmira Hamidi (Iranian).