One high school for the Wakatipu Basin on a site which has room for expansion is preferable to establishing a second, separate high school, the Ministry of Education says.
In 2012 the Otago Daily Times reported the ministry had purchased 8ha of land owned by Remarkables Park Ltd for schooling purposes and it was later confirmed Wakatipu High School would be relocated from inner Queenstown to Frankton.
The ministry has submitted a notice of requirement to the Queenstown Lakes District Council for the relocation and an early childhood centre to operate close to the high school.
''It is a common ministry practice to site ECEs [early childhood centres] on proximate school sites,'' the notice said.
The ministry said the site the school presently sits on ''has very limited capacity for expansion'' and is not in a ''growth catchment''.
Future growth in pupil numbers is expected to come from Frankton, Kelvin Heights and northeast of Queenstown.
''The Remarkables Park site offers the school greater capacity to expand and place it in a more central location relative to the wider Wakatipu Basin.''
It is also briefly noted in the notice of requirement that one high school is preferred to establishing a second.
The relocated school's capacity is expected to progressively reach 1500 following the 2017 opening and the early childhood centre would cater for a maximum of 50 children aged under 5.
The ministry intends to have Wakatipu High School relocated to the Remarkables Park site in time for commencement of the 2017 school year.
