Enrolment information and dates

IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING APPLYING FOR YEAR 9 IN 2023….

We will be accepting applications for in-zone and out-of-zone places until Friday 29 July 2022.

Click here to see our online 2023 Prospectus

Click here to fill out our online enrolment form

If you are unable to access the online application form, please contact the main office for a printed copy. Phone 348 5073 or email info@riccarton.school.nz

KEY DATES FOR 2023 YEAR 9 ENROLMENTS:

ENTRANCE CRITERIA

Students residing within the Riccarton High School Zone have priority right of entry.

Click here to view the zone and enrolment description.

If there are still places available after the receipt of applications from students within the zone, other applications received by the due date will be accepted in the following order of priority:

• Second Priority: Siblings of current students of Riccarton High School.
• Third Priority: Siblings of former students of Riccarton High School.
• Fourth Priority: Children of former students of Riccarton High School.
• Fifth Priority: Children of board employees of Riccarton High School.
• Sixth Priority: Any other applicants will be selected by ballot.

Enrolments received after the due date will be placed at the end of the balloted waiting list.

The address given at the time of application for enrolment must be the student’s usual place of residence when the school is open for instruction. This means that if you move to an out-of-zone address before your child’s first day of attendance at the school, your child will not be entitled to enrol at the school. Students must also be living with a family member or responsible adult who has been given “primary duty of care” and is responsible for the student’s welfare.

The Ministry of Education advises that parents should be warned of the possible consequences of deliberately attempting to gain unfair priority for enrolment by knowingly giving a false address or making an in-zone living arrangement which they intend to be only temporary, for example:

• renting accommodation in-zone on a short-term basis
• arranging temporary board in-zone with a relative or family friend
• using the in-zone address of a relative or friend with no intention to live there on an ongoing basis.

If the board has reasonable grounds for believing that the given in-zone address will not be a genuine, on-going living arrangement with the primary caregiver, the board may decline an offer of a place.

If the school learns that a student is no longer living in-zone, and has reasonable grounds to believe that a temporary in-zone residence has been used for the purpose of unfairly gaining priority in enrolment, then the board may review the enrolment.

Unless the parents can give a satisfactory explanation within ten days, the board may annul the enrolment. This course of action is provided for under section 110A of the Education Act 1989.

If, within two years of being accepted as an in-zone applicant, a student’s place of residence should be moved out of zone, it is necessary to make a formal application to the principal for permission to continue attendance at the school. Failure to do this may also lead to the enrolment being annulled.

ENROLMENT FOR STUDENTS WITH ORS-FUNDED SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS:

Riccarton High School operates the following special programme for up to 20 learners verified for the On-going Resourcing Scheme.

Riccarton High School’s special programme is called Kohanga Ako. Individual education programmes take place in a very caring and supportive environment. Reading, writing, mathematics, social and independent living skills are emphasised. Classrooms are purpose-built to provide the specialist facilities needed. Mainstreaming opportunities are provided where appropriate. Specialist teachers are supported by a team of experienced Learning Assistants.

To be eligible for enrolment into Kohanga Ako a student must be verified for ORS.

 Each year the Board will identify the number of spaces available in the programme for the following year.  If there are places available, the Board will publish this information by way of a notice in a daily or community newspaper and on the school website.  The notice will indicate how applications are to be made and will specify a date by which applications must be received.

If there are more applicants than places, the Board will offer places by way of a ballot. If there are more applicants in a priority group than there are places available, places must be allocated in priority order until a category is reached where the number of spaces available in that category is insufficient to accommodate the number of eligible students. Selection within that priority group must be by ballot.

Places will be allocated to students in the following order:

• Those who live within the Riccarton High School Zone, or are already enrolled at the school
• Those who live within the Allenvale Special School catchment
• Those who have previously attended a special school or specialised programme
• All other applicants

Where there are more applicants than spaces, the ballot will be used to establish a waiting list for vacancies that may arise during the year.

Applicants who live out-of-zone and do not secure a place in the special programme will enter the selection process for places at the school on the same basis as other out-of-zone students (unless the parents advise they do not wish to apply for places outside of the special programme).

Please note that enrolment into the special programme from outside the school zone does not entitle the student to Special Education School Transport Assistance if this is not the closest school to the regular place of residence.

All enrolment enquiries should be directed to the Head of the Kohanga Ako.

A specific Application for Enrolment form is available from the school. All applications must be received by the end of Term 2.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome for places in Kohanga Ako by Friday 25 September.

2024 ENROLMENTS

Riccarton High School offers online enrolments for In-Zone families throughout the year. Please see here for our Riccarton High School Zone Map.  A detailed explanation of our zone can be found here.

You will need the following documents to complete an online enrolment:

• A scanned copy of your child’s birth certificate or passport
• Two forms of recent proof of permanent address in zone (electricity, rental agreement, rates demand or mortgage letter). Tenancy Agreements need to be for a period of 12 months or more
• A recent school report
• If you are not a New Zealand or Australian resident you will also need a scanned copy of the student’s visa and the parent’s work visa.

Our Open Evening for 2024 will be held on Thursday 18 May 2023. More information will follow closer to the time.

Dates for 2024 Out-of-Zone enrolments will be published once we have received this information from the Ministry of Education.