Upper Clutha schools, from the smallest - Makarora School with 11 students, to the largest, Te Kura o Tititea Mount Aspiring College (MAC) with 1,320 students - are preparing for the new school year.

Makarora School principal Rachel Brown said the school, which includes new entrants to year 7 students, was expecting two more new entrants later in the year.

“We are enjoying our new music playground and looking forward to a new complex climbing frame,” Rachel said. 

Plans for the year ahead include joining Tarras School for a triathlon and Hāwea Flat School for athletics day, as well as joining in the Festival of Colour school programme, she said.

The area’s smallest school, Makarora, will begin the year with 11 students - but two more are expected as the year goes on.

Tarras School will have 22 students at the beginning of the year, and principal Alice Casey said the roll is expected to reach 27.

“We've recently appointed a second teacher so class sizes are starting at 11 - we're delighted to have small classes and are looking forward to another great year,” Alice said.

“We've currently undergoing some building renovations and will have fresh classrooms to start the year.”

Next up is Te Kura o Take Karara, which has a starting roll of 317 and is expected to reach 350 to 360 by the end of the year.

Principal Jodie Howard said the school is looking forward to enhancing its established play garden and nursery projects with the students and community groups. 

“We are also working with Wai [Wānaka] to become joint guardians with other organisations of a nature space in Cardrona where we want to continue to restore the native planting, observe the river that flows through the space and to use it to play and explore in,” she said.

Last year’s fundraising means the school can purchase vans to take groups of children to the retirement villages, early learning centres, the nature space at Cardrona, and the waterfront for community events, Jodie said.

Hāwea Flat School will have a starting roll of approximately 375 students, and a year of steady growth will take that to around 435 students by year’s end, principal Tania Pringle said.

“The primary focus will remain on providing high-quality student learning experiences,” she said. 

“The school looks forward to continued positive engagement with the community.”

New Wānaka Primary School principal Rob Rush said he was excited to begin the school year on Monday (February 3).  

“As of today, we have 463 students enrolled and ready to start on day one,” he said. “We will be starting with 19 classrooms and this will grow as new entrant learners turn five and start throughout the year.”

The first major event for the school will be a community welcome picnic on the evening of Monday February 10 (5pm), providing an opportunity for the school to welcome new children and their families as well as a chance to meet Rob.

MAC, the Upper Clutha’s only high school - and one of the largest in Otago, will be starting the school year with 1,320 students - 20 more than at the beginning of 2024.

Principal Nicola Jacobsen said the increase reflects new enrolments across all year levels, not just new year 7 students.

“This year, we will continue our focus on achieving academic excellence, supporting student wellbeing, and developing student leadership capabilities,” she said.

Holy Family Catholic School was approached for comment.

PHOTOS: Wānaka App