All but a handful of the region's 150 primary, intermediate and secondary schools have each enrolled up to 125 pupils since last week's magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch.
The Ministry of Education has closed schools in the city until further notice, and families have sent more than 2250 pupils from Christchurch to be enrolled elsewhere.
Education Minister Anne Tolley said last night 19 schools in Christchurch had indicated they wanted to re-open this week or early next week.
An Otago Daily Times survey found 849 pupils had been enrolled in Otago schools by 5pm yesterday, and most schools spoken to said they expected many more to enrol in the coming days.
Many of the enrolments were at Wanaka and Queenstown schools, with more than 100 at Wanaka Primary School and 125 at Mt Aspiring College.
Mt Aspiring College principal Wayne Bosley said the significant numbers were the result of people making use of the holiday homes they owned in the area.
The school was absorbing the influx by creating larger classes.
''Some may be with us for a short period of time. Others may be here longer.
''So, at this stage, we are employing extra teachers from our relief pool so that we can have more than one teacher in a classroom.''
Mr Bosley said he had contacted the Education Ministry to see if extra rooms could be made available if it became clear pupils would be staying for a longer period.
''The response from locals has been fantastic. There's a real warmth about Wanaka at the moment.
''It's always been a pretty supportive community, but this is a real case where anyone who can help out is helping out with a smile.''
Queenstown Primary School deputy principal Jim Turrell said 36 Christchurch pupils had started, but ''dozens more'' were expected.
The school had capacity for an extra 40 to 50, but could struggle to cope with more.
By a ''quirk of circumstances'' the school had extra capacity because of Remarkables Primary School opening last year and the fact the board kept class sizes in check.
Some pupils seemed fine after their quake experiences while others had a degree of ''sadness and confusion''.
The response of the school's existing pupils was ''wonderful'' in doing their utmost to welcome new classmates.
Waitaki Boys' High School principal Dr Paul Baker said he was disappointed only three pupils from Christchurch had enrolled at his school.
It had the capacity to accommodate up to 30 boarders.
He believed many parents were sending their children to live with relatives to go to schools nearby, rather than considering boarding school.
Otago Secondary Principals' Association president Julie Anderson said the response from the region's schools had been ''heart-warming''.
''We are committed in schools in Otago to support the Canterbury students to ensure that educations can carry on as uninterrupted as possible.
''It's also about getting families back into routine following the trauma and difficulty.
''It's a heart-warming response from the region's schools.''
