
We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to picking which school to attend.
Dunedin has a proud history of all-girl public secondary schools, with the southern hemisphere’s oldest state girls’ school Otago Girls’ High School (which I attended) and Queen’s High School.
While Otago Girls’ has had a cap on numbers and an enrolment zone in place for more than a quarter of a century, Queen’s has remained opened to anyone across Dunedin wanting to attend.
I’d like to congratulate Queen’s for its success in increasing student numbers, with an 80% surge in enrolment numbers since 2019.
Queen’s success has led to the Ministry of Education proposing an enrolment zone for the South Dunedin high school, to limit the number of pupils.
The proposed enrolment zone will leave girls living in several pockets of the city unzoned to attend either Otago Girls’ or Queen’s. Areas include Mosgiel, Brighton, Port Chalmers, Brockville and the Otago Peninsula. The only option for girls in these areas will be co-ed or integrated high schools.
While Dunedin has great high-quality co-ed options, girls and families in Dunedin should continue to have a choice. It’s a choice I believe makes our schooling system one of the best in New Zealand, and makes Dunedin a desirable city for families to live in.
Otago Boys’ High School and Kings High school both operate without zones — this is despite having higher enrolment numbers than both girls’ high schools.
Taieri MP Ingrid Leary and I have written to the Minister of Education Erica Stanford this month asking the minister to reconsider the proposed zoning arrangements for Dunedin’s all girls’ high schools.
We believe the ministry and minister need to look at the consequences the proposed enrolment zone will have on girls living in Dunedin. I am sure arrangements can be made so that Dunedin girls continue to have the option between great high schools.