For more than a decade, the roll at Taieri Beach School has been gradually declining, from about 25 pupils to fewer than 10 in 2019.
Now the only two pupils left are the children of the chairwoman of the board.
Principal Dr Gloria Penrice said the tiny roll was not a problem because she had been working on an extremely innovative, never-been-done-before, nature-based learning programme.
She said it was up to the school’s board of trustees to ask the secretary of education to request the school be closed but it had no intention of doing that because of the new programme that was in the works.
"We have got a big picture thing going on here which is very innovative.
Dr Penrice said she had sent the Ministry of Education a proposal and would pitch her idea to other principals in Dunedin.
However, everything was up in the air at this stage, she said.
Over the last five years, the school’s roll had gradually been falling and Dr Penrice declined to say why.
"We know the reasons and we understand reasons but I don’t want to make it public.
"It’s been a variety of reasons and ... a lot of the reasons they gave me were very family-orientated with problems within the family. It wasn’t to do with the school."
She said a lot of parents in Taieri Mouth worked in Dunedin and it was easier for them to take their children to school somewhere in town.
The school had five very capable and experienced staff, who made school a very happy place, Dr Penrice said.
The school’s board of trustees chairwoman Stacey Penrose, a parent to the school’s two pupils, said she was optimistic the school roll would grow.
"I think we’ve got a lot more families moving out here to Taieri Mouth.
"We’ve got a lot of preschoolers coming through ... so I think there’s a lot of potential there to actually work with them towards them attending school."
She said the school had a wonderful programme that incorporated learning in the classroom with a lot of hands-on learning.
"At the end of the day I back [the school] because they have done absolutely wonderfully with my children.
She said Dr Penrice had developed an approach that was unique to Taieri Mouth and it was definitely going to be a point of difference when it came to enrolments.
Ministry of Education director of education for Otago Southland Julie Anderson said the ministry was well aware the roll at Taieri Beach School was low and would meet the board and principal to discuss future enrolments.
"There is no roll threshold that automatically requires a school to consider closure and we recognise that school rolls can fluctuate over time.
She said Taieri Beach School had been reviewing and updating how the curriculum was delivered and the ministry would offer support should it be needed.
