The growing strain has had inner Auckland principals appealing for help<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe simply should be building new schools in high-demand areas,\u201d Mt Albert Grammar headmaster Patrick Drumm said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should have happened 10 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Some principals believed another important step in reducing strain on big schools was to back proposed changes to the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA).<\/p>\n They believed curriculum reform would help raise student academic results at schools across the country and make all local schools more attractive to parents.<\/p>\n Instead, a trend of parents wanting to send children to the big inner-Auckland high schools while living in outer suburbs had set in. <\/p>\n That was in part due to inner-city schools trying to develop enticing academic and sports programmes.<\/p>\n A parent who toured Mt Albert Grammar\u2019s sporting facilities with families from a West Auckland cricket club during winter said everyone was impressed by what the school offered.<\/p>\n But most lived out of zone and were realistic about their prospects of gaining enrolment through the ballot.<\/p>\n Other desperate parents have previously told the Herald about their thoughts of moving in with grandparents or faking home addresses so it appeared they were living in their preferred school zone.<\/p>\n Others have talked of miraculously finding God so they could qualify for Catholic schools that often had lower fees than fully private schools.<\/p>\n Those trends could increase, given 2026\u2019s ballot results suggest the odds of securing a coveted out-of-zone place are lower than ever.<\/p>\n At Epsom Girls\u2019, an estimated 464 out-of-zone families competed for just 40 Year 9 spots \u2013 an acceptance rate of 9%.<\/p>\n Auckland Grammar accepted 95 from 520 applicants for an 18% acceptance rate.<\/p>\n North Shore schools Westlake Boys\u2019 and Westlake Girls\u2019 had better odds for out-of-zone parents.<\/p>\n They accepted almost 200 out-of-zone students each at an acceptance rate of between 30% and 40%.<\/p>\n Selwyn College in the city\u2019s east accepted 60 students, or 34% of out-of-zone applicants.<\/p>\n Despite accepting more out-of-zone students than other surveyed schools, the wait lists at both Westlake Girls\u2019 and Boys\u2019 high schools had grown since last year.<\/p>\n Westlake Girls\u2019 wait list was now up 79, jumping from 231 this time last year to 310 for 2026.<\/p>\n Westlake Boys\u2019 list was now 460 \u2013 up from 410.<\/p>\n Nearly all schools reported in-zone enrolments being up.<\/p>\n Auckland Grammar headmaster Tim O\u2019Connor said the school was facing \u201cconsiderable growth\u201d.<\/p>\n The number of families moving into its zone grew by 130 last year and will likely increase more in 2026, he said.<\/p>\n Mt Albert Grammar faced a projected 16% jump in Year 9 numbers next year, while Epsom Girls\u2019 said it had seen a \u201csignificant increase\u201d.<\/p>\n The strain also prompted some principals to call for a deeper reflection on why parents were so desperate to get into certain schools.<\/p>\n Steven Hargreaves of Macleans College questioned whether the driver was linked to school philosophy.<\/p>\n \u201cI wonder if there is a story looking at why some schools have waiting lists or have closed some enrolment categories, and others have empty rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n Drumm echoed this, asking why some families didn\u2019t want to attend their local school.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the recent positioning by schools around support (or otherwise) for the proposed changes to NCEA may provide an indication of the types of schooling that parents are seeking for their sons and daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n His comments come after a rare public spat between New Zealand school leaders<\/a>.<\/p>\n Principals from some of New Zealand\u2019s wealthiest high schools this month publicly backed plans to scrap NCEA.<\/p>\n The coalition of about 64 principals urged the Education Minister to press ahead with fast-paced plans to implement a new Year 12 and 13 curriculum<\/a>.<\/p>\n That contrasted with a letter signed by about 90 principals from largely lower socio-economic areas calling for an \u201cimmediate halt\u201d to NCEA reforms until they were better planned.<\/p>\nWestlake fullback Ollie Davies representing Westlake Boys against Rosmini in June this year \u2013 the big Auckland schools often offer specialist academic and sports programmes that entice parents. Photo \/ Brett Phibbs <\/p>\n