Thu, Feb 8, 2024 4:00 PM
Rolls steady as Nelson goes back to school
Nelson College has reported a 10 per cent growth in its roll this year. Photo: File.
Kate Russell
A 10 per cent growth in Nelson College’s roll along with nine new staff have contributed to a “positive” start to the 2024 school year, according to acting headmaster Tim Oughton.
Secondary school students in Nelson went back to class last week, with all three colleges reporting healthy rolls.
“Our roll is up approximately 10 per cent with 1061 students,” reports Tim. “This includes 967 at the college and 94 at prep.”
He describes the new staff as “top quality” and there were no issues with recruitment.
“I think that has to do with the location and the history of the school. I was a principal for 23 years and have been in a lot of schools [including Scots College of Wellington, Scotch College of Adelaide, and Kristin School in Auckland] but Nelson has been different.
“We have very upbeat staff; it has been a very positive start to the year.”
Boarder numbers at the college are up from last year, which Tim attributes to the bounce-back from Covid.
“We have 90 boarders, including 20 international students, which is predicted to grow to 30 by mid-year.”
The college also hopes to welcome a new headmaster this year, with applications for the job closing on 4 March.
Former headmaster Richard Dykes stepped down in term 4, 2023 after four years in the role, due to a continuing health issue.
Tim says they hope to have made an appointment by the end of term 1 and for them to begin in term 3.
Nelson College for Girls has kicked off the year with a new tumuaki (principal), Claire O’Fee, who says their roll is pretty much on par with 2023.
Their current roll is sitting at 848, compared to 854 in 2023. They have 179 Year 9 students beginning at the college this year.
“[The roll] is fluid as we are receiving new enrolments every day at the moment,” she says.
Claire says the school is fully staffed, except for a couple of part-time positions which will be advertised soon.
“Neither of those affect classes currently though.”
Nayland College acting principal Hannah Banks says they are starting the year with 1486 students, including 50 internationals. This is a similar starting roll to 2023, when they had 1480 students.
“We also have 15 new staff – mostly teachers but also support staff and some who have returned after time off.”
She says there is a “really positive atmosphere” at the school.
“It’s lovely to see the students back.”
Local secondary schools are also navigating the incoming cellphone ban, which is set to start in term 2 this year. Schools will be required to have a cellphone policy in place, but they can decide how to apply it.
Claire says their current policy is ‘away for the day’ and they will stick with this for the start of the year while they send out a survey to parents and caregivers.
“We are going to give our whānau what choice we can before landing on an updated policy. Until then, we are starting the year with our current procedure, which is that phones must be in bags in class time unless students are asked to use them for part of an activity in class.”
Tim and Hannah both say they have similar policies and will also be sending out a survey to whānau in the coming weeks.
Tim says he supports students not having full access to their cellphones at school.
“Personally, I think it’s a good thing. Seeing kids sitting in corridors on their phones breaks my heart a bit. There has got to be a bit of student education.”
Hannah says they are “ready” for it, too.
“We’ll be seeking parent feedback and looking to tweak and tune things. We are looking at putting on some extra activities at lunchtimes and encouraging more face-to-face interaction.”
