Growing demand for Rangiora’s Christian schools

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

Two North Canterbury Christian schools are seeking permission to grow their student rolls.

The Ministry of Education is seeking feedback on requests from eight Canterbury state integrated schools to increase their maximum rolls, including two in Rangiora.

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Rangiora wants to increase its roll from 175 to 225 students, while Rangiora New Life School (pictured) is looking to increase its maximum roll of 470 by an additional 100 secondary students to 570.

Rangiora New Life School principal Stephen Walters said demand for Christian education in the region is strong.

‘‘I think it is exciting for all of those schools listed.

‘‘It will be phased in over a number of years and it will likely be mostly from home school families.’’

As the school took students from throughout the Waimakariri and Hurunui districts, he said he did not expect it to have a major impact on local state schools.

The school has 230 year 9 to 13 students, so an extra 100 students will represent significant growth.

Walters said about 30 extra students could be absorbed within its existing buildings and the five hectare site has plenty of room for expansion.

As it was too late to plan for next year, he anticipated gradual roll growth to begin from 2026.

‘‘We want to be a low density site, so when we reach 650 we would look for another site.’’

State integrated schools have less ‘‘bureaucratic hurdles" because they don't spend Government money on buildings, he said.

‘‘We build a classroom and then collect the fees from parents to pay for them over 20 or 30 years.’’

North Canterbury’s booming population means local state schools are all growing, with Rangiora High School reaching 1750 students this year and Kaiapoi High School fast approaching its site capacity of 1100.

‘‘Oxford Area School used to be same size as us, but it has overtaken us with its growth.’’

St Joseph’s School principal Ben Gorman said there was strong demand for a Catholic education.

‘‘We've had significant roll pressure for the last six to seven years.
‘‘Currently, we have over 50 applications for enrolment for next year, but only have 20 spaces available (with departing year 8 students).’’

Gorman said if the maximum roll increase is approved, it will be phased in between from 2026 to 2030, with two classrooms built.

St Joseph’s School board of trustees chairperson Emma Dangerfield said North Canterbury’s growing population is likely to lead to more enrolments.

‘‘We want to see students enrolled in their preferred school option so ensuring we have more spaces available for these children is a no-brainer.’’

She said the increased roll would have little or no impact on other schools due to the rapid population growth.

Christchurch schools Aidenfield Christian School, Emmanuel Christian School, Middleton Grange School, St Mark’s School and Christchurch Adventist School have requested to increase their rolls.

St Bede’s College is looking to increase its day student roll and reduce its roll for borders, while keeping its maximum roll at 786.

The Ministry of Education is seeking feedback until September 27.
State and state-integrated schools and kura have a school board that governs it and makes decisions on the school's strategic direction.

■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.