2 February 2006

Bumper school rolls for 2006

Education Minister Steve Maharey today released Students at School in 2006, an overview of school rolls, which shows that 2006 will be the peak year for enrolments in New Zealand schools.

More than 700,000 students will begin the school year next Tuesday, rising to a record 756,000 by July. Around 10,000 new entrants start next week, the first of 58,000 children who will start school this year.

"I want to welcome all the new entrants and their families to our school system," Steve Maharey said. "I'm hugely excited about the year ahead for our schools.

"I'm planning to spend a lot of time this year talking with teachers, parents and communities around the country, with a focus on how we can work together to raise student achievement and improve learning outcomes for all students."

Highlights from the report include:
- Around 9,700 new entrants will be enrolled at schools this week. They'll be among an estimated 58,000 children who will start school for the first time throughout the year
- Most new entrants (94 percent) will have attended an early childhood education centre
„h Some 275,900 children will be attending secondary school, an increase of around 2,200 on last year
- Around 480,500 children will be attending primary school, some 1,700 fewer than last year

While most schools open their doors for the first day of the 2006 school year on 7 February, final figures will not be known until the March 2006 and July 2006 school rolls are collected and analysed.

This year will also see more diversity in New Zealand classrooms, with increasing proportions of Maori, Pasifika and Asian students enrolling in schools. Secondary school rolls will also continue to increase as the high number of children born in the early 1990s known as the baby-blip - move through to secondary schooling.

During 2006 an estimated $5.3 billion of Government funding will be spent on schools, $200 million more than last year. Students at School in 2006 is available at www.minedu.govt.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media