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Cold water has been poured on a discussion about how the Ko Taku Reo Deaf Education site in Sumner would be ideal for a new high school.
Parents have been wanting a high school in the Christchurch suburb for decades and the discussion was sparked again on social media last week.
It came after Ko Taku Reo Deaf Education, formerly known as Van Asch Deaf School, welcomed a proposal late last month to relocate from its Truro St site to a purpose-built campus in Hillmorton. However, the move currently has no money allocated to it.
Ministry of Education Canterbury and Chatham Islands director Coralanne Child told Bay Harbour News it has no plans to develop a state secondary school in Sumner.
"Current and projected demand for state secondary education in east Christchurch can be accommodated through existing schools, including Te Aratai College.
"Planning has identified capacity for further growth within the current network if needed, so there is no anticipated need for an additional state secondary school in the area,” she said.
Jamie Fredrick Dawson posted to a Sumner community Facebook page in response to Ko Taku Reo Deaf Education's relocation proposal, saying the Truro St site would be perfect for a new high school.
Dawson created and circulated a flyer depicting the fictional "Bays High" after learning of Ko Taku Reo Deaf Education's proposal to move away from Sumner.
"Surely this would be the perfect site for a high school, then?" he posted.
He imagined "Bays High" would have a zone that encompassed Sumner, Redcliffs, Mt Pleasant, Ferrymead, Taylor’s Mistake and Lyttelton - all of which are currently zoned for Te Aratai College (formerly Linwood College). It would also take students from Governors Bay and Diamond Harbour which are currently zoned for Cashmere High.
Dawson touted classrooms capped at 24 students and one day a week dedicated to water activities, such as surfing, surf life saving, and ocean swimming.
He said there was nothing wrong with Te Aratai College, but he does not consider it to be a local school.
"There’s a gap here to fill and if the deaf school is exiting, why not fill it to give the bays a local high school?
"This isn’t about 'escaping Te Aratai' but around proper planning of the growth in the bays areas," Dawson said.
Others agreed, including Annie Smith who said: "Every family in this area has had the same dilemma for years. We were no different."
Edward Spry said he would love to see a school in Sumner.
Another poster said the lack of a secondary school is the reason their family is moving out of the area.
Another commenter objected to having a high school in Sumner, saying people had a "thing" about Te Aratai College and believed parents needed to get behind the school in order to see it improve.
If Ko Taku Reo Deaf Education's move goes ahead, it would see it move to a modern shared site on the corner of Curletts and Halswell Rds, with Blind and Low Vision Education Network New Zealand and the Southern Health School.
Ko Taku Reo Deaf Education has operated out of earthquake damaged buildings on the Van Asch site for the past 13 years.
- Have Your Say: Do you think a high school should be built on the former Van Asch College site? Email your views to kees.chalmers@alliedmedia.co.nz in 200 words or less