Overcrowded inner-city Wellington school resists rezoning, asks for investment instead
Thursday, 30 April 2026
While the Ministry of Education “wasn’t paying attention”, an inner-city Wellington school’s roll swelled over capacity.
Now, the ministry is planning to shrink Mt Cook School’s zone in an attempt to channel students to nearby under-capacity schools.
At a hui on Tuesday evening, Mt Cook school whānau turned out to ask questions as well as voice their opposition to the rezoning, which could potentially cut siblings out of school enrolment.
Unlike many Wellington schools, Mt Cook’s roll has grown by around 25 pupils each year. In a little over a decade, its roll has reached 313, well over its 257 capacity.
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Heaping pressure on a school already bursting at the seams, two classrooms are under renovation, forcing teachers to get creative; classes have been taught beside the office and on the stage in the hall.
Some are having lessons in an office space in a commercial building beside the school, which the ministry leases at $20,000 a term.
On Tuesday night, Ministry of Education advisor Anne Bell said the ministry was compelled to look for “non-property solutions” before other options like building a new classroom, which would cost in the region of $750,000 to $1 million.
Bell said this did not make sense when nearby schools ‒ Thorndon, Clifton Terrace, Clyde Quay, Te Aro and Newtown ‒ were under capacity.
“We can't just build classrooms at site A and have empty classrooms at site B.
“I'd rather the $1m was spent on teaching and learning, the best use of taxpayer money.”
The school had become overcrowded because “the ministry wasn’t paying attention”, Bell said.
In 15 years there had been just one communication with the school from the ministry team which monitored enrolment schemes, a note in 2020 telling them they were at risk of overcrowding, she said.
“The scheme was not administered as well as it could be,” Bell said.
Grandparenting ‒ allowing younger siblings to enrol ‒ was also in question. The school community will be surveyed on two options; opting out of grandparenting, or allowing it and shaving the school zone further.
This would affect about seven families, Bell said.
One parent said this could force families to take older siblings out of school so their children could attend the same school.
Mt Cook School had a diverse community that included vulnerable families and a high number of non-native English speakers. They deserved consideration by the ministry, the parent said.
“They don’t have cars, can’t speak English, they’re unable to advocate for themselves. It’s a high price to pay for those families.”
Other parents pointed out that the area was fast-growing, with housing developments being built within the new zone. These pupils would swell the roll further.
“There is pressure on kaiako, pressure on families, what pressure is there on the ministry?“ someone asked.
'Build us another classroom,' said another, to scattered applause.
“I think it would be lovely but I have concerns about space,” Bell said.
Tumuaki (principal) Adrianne McAllister told the gathered whānau that the school was over capacity thanks to its “awesome kaiako and awesome community”.
“What we do, we do really well. We understand it's important for you to come to this school because of what we give.”
She told The Post the school was unique.
“Our community is really diverse; refugees, embassy staff… we have the whole spectrum and everyone works really well. I don’t think the ministry understands that every school community is unique.”
McAllister said she had fought for years for renovations and for extra capacity.
The Ministry of Education’s education director for Wellington, Roy Sye, told The Post that five of the school’s blocks were part of a “weather tightness remediation project … to ensure the school has warm, safe and dry learning environments”.
Three blocks were complete, and another would be completed by the end of term.
However, the day after the hui, McAllister sent The Post a photo of a window with a gaping hole in a window frame. This was in one of the blocks that had received the remediation.
“As you can see, these short-term fixes are leaving our learning spaces vulnerable and not fit for purpose,” she wrote.
Board chair and parent Emma Coates loved the school, citing its kaiako and the “crazy melting pot” that made up its whānau.
“Families invest in schools. They invest in relationships; teachers, friends … the $1m classroom cost ignores the cost to families.”
This could include splitting siblings between schools, a stressful juggle for working parents, Coates said.
“Having both of my kids in the same school is incredibly important to me.”
Sye said school rolls are expected to decrease across the country. Between 2024 and 2025, the Wellington Central and North catchment where Mt Cook School sat had experienced the largest overall decrease in the region.
He said the ministry used the “best available data” to examine the school network, including Stats NZ, Wellington City Council and Kāinga Ora.
He said the ministry-funded office space was part of the remediation project, and would not be needed after this term.