Others fiercely defended Albany Senior High\u2019s model, saying it offered inclusiveness and flexibility, and was a lifeline for students with additional learning needs. <\/p>\n
Albany Senior High principal Claire Amos said she was not interested in any \u201csimplistic debates about \u2018traditional\u2019 versus \u2018progressive\u2019 education\u201d.<\/p>\n
Amos told the Herald anyone with doubts over her school\u2019s learning programme should \u201ccome and visit and experience the school first-hand\u201d. <\/p>\n
The school\u2019s approach was \u201cdeliberately designed\u201d for senior students, she said, and combined academia with real-world training for university and employment. <\/p>\n
Albany Senior School principal Claire Amos.<\/p>\n
Amos argued the alumni valued the \u201cexperience of both schools and their complementary approaches\u201d. <\/p>\n
Albany Junior High board chair Samantha Ebel-Brown said their application would explore whether the school could provide \u201cfamilies with greater continuity beyond Year 10\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ebel-Brown would not go into specifics about the application, to \u201crespect the integrity\u201d of the Ministry of Education\u2019s process.<\/p>\n
A parent with a child at each school said the only connection between the two schools was proximity and similar names.<\/p>\n
They were \u201ctotally different\u201d in style and philosophy.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlbany Junior is very traditional, uniforms, sport and academic-focused, all of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhereas Albany Senior is very arts-focused, student-led, with open-plan classrooms. [Students] don\u2019t wear uniforms and they call teachers by their first names.\u201d<\/p>\n
Albany Senior High School caters well to students with additional learning needs and has a progressive education model.<\/p>\n
She knew of at least one family that had relocated to the zone for Rangitoto College as they wanted a more \u201ctraditional route\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not because Albany Senior is a bad school necessarily; it\u2019s just different.<\/p>\n
\u201cNorth Shore parents typically want to follow the traditional schooling route.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rangitoto College principal Greg Thornton said he was told by many families they had moved into the area to attend his school. <\/p>\n
Rangitoto College does not accept enrolments from out-of-zone families. <\/p>\n
He would not say if those families were from the Albany Senior High catchment. <\/p>\n
Parents and former students also flooded social media after the Herald\u2019s reporting. <\/p>\n
Some said the proposed shake-up would allow students to remain in a school where they were already thriving.<\/p>\n
One parent with children in Years 8 and 9 said extending Albany Junior High to Year 13 would be \u201can incredible opportunity\u201d for families, arguing not every student suited Albany Senior High\u2019s learning model.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Albany Senior] won\u2019t be the right fit for every child, and having another option on the North Shore, where schools are already under pressure, can only be a positive thing,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n
They said students who had built friendships, sporting teams and relationships with teachers should have the option of continuing those through to Year 13. <\/p>\n
Others claimed some families were already avoiding the current pathway into Albany Senior High.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a mass exodus at [Albany Junior] for Year 9 and 10 because parents don\u2019t want their kids going to the senior college,\u201d one parent claimed, adding they believed the current system \u201cdoesn\u2019t work for the many\u201d.<\/p>\n
Albany Junior High has a more “traditional” model of education, the community says. <\/p>\n
A former student of both schools said each model had strengths.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlbany Senior\u2019s unique model makes it the most effective for transitioning to university \u2026 but if you don\u2019t have a good work ethic and self-drive you\u2019ll fall behind,\u201d they wrote. <\/p>\n
Others strongly defended Albany Senior High, particularly for students in the LGBTQIA+ community and those with learning difficulties. <\/p>\n
A parent with two children at the senior school said its flexibility and wraparound support enabled their daughter, who had additional learning needs, to achieve NCEA Level 2 before finishing Year 13.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth struggled big time in mainstream schooling, and [Albany Senior] saved them,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n
Another parent said their children had \u201cthrived at [Albany Senior]\u201d and they were \u201cin total support of this school\u2019s model\u201d.<\/p>\n
A person identifying themselves as a North Shore secondary school teacher, who said they had taught at both schools, argued Albany Junior High was responding to \u201cgenuine community needs\u201d.<\/p>\n
They said greater choice would better serve families across the area.<\/p>\n
Rachel Maher is the education correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. She also covers a variety of other topics like Auckland issues, crime and local government. She started at the Herald as a breaking news journalist in 2022, before joining the Auckland team this year. <\/p>\n