Separate Post-Primary School For Whakatane Suggested In Comprehensive Report To Board

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 73, 26 July 1948, Page 5

Separate Post-Primary School For Whakatane Suggested In Comprehensive Report To Board

With this proposition is bound up the erection of a new Primary School block on the area in Landing Road being acquired by the Board for school purposes, under the Public Works Act. In presenting its arguments for a ;separate post-primary school, the committee leads off with the following roll figures, as at June 23: Infants, 184; Standards 1-4, 258; forms 1 and 2, 118, a. total of 560 for the primary department, and 271 for • the secondary department of the existing District High School—a .grand total of 831. It is pointed out as noteworthy that the High School roll at Febrhary 1943 stood at 167, revealing • an increase since that date of 104, or 62 per'cent. The census figures for 1946 showed the Whakatane Borough as having the 4th highest proportional inter-censal increase.

It is known that the normal school population over the whole DominJon is calculated to show a very marked increase during the next three to four years but there are .special factors affecting the rate of increase in Whakatane. These are, .first, the subdivision of large farming holdings with a reflective increase in the Borough population and, second, anticipated industrial expansion in the district. It is also mentioned that State rental houses in Whakatane at present total 120 and land has been purchased by the Housing Department for the erection of a further :200 dwellings, work on the first 20 of which is now in hand the contracts being arranged for a further '7O.

The committee’s recommendation is for the setting up of a, new primary block on the Landing Road site. It says the present Primary and Infant Rolls (excluding forms 1 and 2) total 442, and it seems clear that

a school of at least 10 rooms in addition to the existing Infant Department of four permanent room's will be no more than sufficient to meet the town’s needs by the time the necessary buildings can be provided. : “With the roll of the Secondary Department’now standing at 271 and in anticipation of this figure being exceeded in the coming year, we consider the time opportune for the raising of the status of this branch of the school to that of a separate Post-Primary School, utilising in the meantime, the. existing building •plus ; three of : the prefabricated rooms to be constructed,” the report continues. “Adequate provision for Home Science and Manual and Technical Training will be required and also two further laboratories.' These, we suggest, should be erected as soon as possible on a line with the existing buildings instead of the location in front of the existing buildings as shown in the plan supplied by the Board. It is realised that, with the divided control of the schools, some points of difficulty in management may arise, but these do not seem to be insuperable.

“When the suggested buildings to house the Primary School on the Xanding Road site are available for occupation, the Post-Primary School will then occupy the whole of the present schbol site, and at that stage we recommend that Forms 1 and 2 should be attached as an Intermediate Department. “In making these recommendations we are not overlooking the fact that representations have been 'made to the Board for the establishment of a District High School in the Edgecumbe-Otakiri area. Here we are of the opinion that the time is fast approaching when such a District High School will be essential to" cope with children up to and including, say, Form 4. The increasing distances to' be travelled by pupils from outlying areas as further farms come into production renders this course very desirable but it is doubted whether the numbers at present warrant the establishment of a further District High School in preference to a Local School.”

Contained in a comprehensive report on 1 the educational needs of this district, prepared by the Whakatane District High School Committee and sent to the Auckland Education Board for its consideration and possible action, is the proposition that a separate postprimary school should be established at Whakatane.