Horsham Downs families left out of new high school
Families whose children attend Horsham Downs school have discovered they are on the wrong side of the boundary when it comes to attending the new secondary school in Hamilton.
The 20 families are from an area north of Lake Rd near Horsham Downs, and made submissions to the Ministry of Education to have the boundaries extended to Driver Rd, Speedy Rd and Kainui Rd, says the Waikato Times.
Spokeswoman Bridget Dowsett told reporter Elton Smallman they had been left out in the cold.
Horsham Downs School falls within the new school zone but while submissions from other parts of the zone were taken into consideration ‘… they have been extended out in every other direction but not ours.’
She received a letter from the education ministry that showed a “final” zone map, and ministry spokesman Gavin Sowry said a further extension north “would not be practical”.
The school zone was mapped on the eastern side of the Waikato River from Pukete Bridge to Gordonton Rd and extended east to Waverley Rd and Piako Rd. From there, it turns north to Woodward Road and then west along Lake Rd and back to the city along River Rd.
She said most of the families worked in Hamilton.
“They are saying we choose not to send our kids to the local school. Well, we are, we do.
“Our kids all attend our in-zone primary school. These kids have been together since they were 5 years old – they are devastated.”
Click here for the full story in the Times.
For a NZ Herald story on the new school, click here.
