Mangawhai high to open in 2025?

Community support for secondary school option is growing

People were increasingly unhappy about their kids going out of the area to spend most of their day at school in another community a long way away.

Chairwoman Jill Corkin

The Northland woman behind an initiative to get a secondary school built in Mangawhai says she has been driven by a community outcry. The closest secondary school is in Maungatūroto despite Mangawhai being the fastest-growing area in Northland.

To meet growing demand, the Mangawhai Education Trust decided to take matters into its own hands and establish a secondary school.

Chairwoman Jill Corkin said the trust would require at least $2 million to get the school up and running and may operate under a charter (partnership) model.

The goal is to create a progressive and future-focused independent secondary school in Mangawhai, the trust website said.

“People were increasingly unhappy about their kids going out of the area to spend most of their day at school in another community a long way away,” Corkin said.

Covid-19 hit and the idea was shelved until early last year when a group of parents offered to combine forces and reactivate the trust, she explained.

Kaipara was hammered by Cyclone Gabrielle which Corkin said caused a lot of anxiety from parents around access to schooling in an area that is often isolated during weather events.

The trust has been overwhelmed with expressions of interest since launching its website last year.

Corkin said more than 250 parents have reached out wanting to enrol their children.

Mangawhai Education Trust would consider operating under a charter model in the wake of the coalition Government’s pledge to reinstate charter schools.

Corkin hoped a future meeting with Education Minister Erica Stanford would clarify whether a charter approach was possible.

“It will depend an awful lot on the criteria they set up for partnership schools.”

Corkin believes they may not meet the criteria because their primary reason for opening would be geographical.

“We’re not setting up a school for kids who don’t fit into the mainstream system.”

She believes it may also come down to how many schools the Government would be willing to fund.

Regardless of whether or not they choose the partnership route, she said, fees would still have to be charged to cover building costs and maintenance.

According to the website, tuition fees may be about $15,000 to $16,000 a year.

From electricians, architects and people wanting to organise fundraisers, Corkin has been surprised at the community aid offered.

But to make it through the first three years, Corkin estimated the school would require around $2m in funding.

Already land has been offered by a local owner willing to offer a longterm lease. Building supply companies for classrooms have also been contacted.

So far five expressions of interest have come from educators wanting to work at the school, but Corkin said two “key staff” would be hired to start with.

The plan is to “start small” by catering from Years 7-9 with a maximum of about 45 students.

“We’ve set the ambitious goal of having the school open by February 2025,” she said.

Corkin noted that would depend upon whether their funding goal had been met and classrooms were ready.

Ministry of Education hautū (leader) Te Tai Raro (North) Isabel Evans told the Advocate the ministry is aware of population growth in Mangawhai and is working with local schools to manage it.

Evans said the ministry manages school infrastructure by planning for growth and population shifts both in the short and long term and ensuring every child can access a local school.

As part of its Education Network Plan, 11 additional teaching spaces have been provided to Mangawhai Beach School and one in Maungatūroto School to address roll growth pressure, she said.

“Meanwhile, we are investigating the feasibility of future education provision.”

According to Infometrics data, Mangawhai’s population was nearly 7500 last year and experienced 3.3 per cent growth — the most out of the three Northland districts.