NEW HIGH SCHOOL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27043, 30 March 1949, Page 6

NEW HIGH SCHOOL

CO-EDUCATIONAL TYPE POSSIBILITY MENTIONED BY BOARD CHAIRMAN That a co-educational high school might be established in South Dunedin was a possibility mentioned by the chairman of the Otago High Schools’ Board, Mr J. C. H. Somerville during the annual meeting of the king’s High School Parents’ Association last night. Mr Somerville said notice of the intention to take five acres of land adjacent to King’s High School for a new high school had already been gazetted. The sale had not yet been completed, but the board would be able to proceed with filling in the site. What type of school should be established had been the subject of discussion, and the board had held a special meeting yesterday afternoon to consider the question. No decision had, however, been made because of the need for further investigation. A special committee had been appointed to carry out this investigation. It was suggested that the views of the principals of three existing high schools in Dunedin, of the chief inspector of post-primary schools, and ox the parents, should be heard, and other relevant information gathered. The secretary of the board would obtain figures for the numbers of pupils likely to attend a new high school in South Dunedin in the next seven years. The need for a new school was emphasised by Mr Somerville. He said that 625 pupils were being accommodated at the Otago Girls’ High School in buildings intended for 500 pupils. “Some of us are inclined to the view that a girls’ high school similar to the present one in Dunedin, but .with a technical bias, should be established,” Mr Somerville said. A coeducational school was held to be a good thing by others. “ There are many schools .of this type in New Zealand, but whether it is the right type for Dunedin is a different matter,” he concluded.