New Classrooms Planned to Keep Pace With Roll Growth

Education Minister Erica Stanford today joined students and staff at Northcross Intermediate in Browns Bay, Auckland, to open eight new classrooms delivered on time and under budget to meet significant roll growth.

Students are moving into their new classrooms today, providing more space for teaching and learning as the school continues to grow.

The opening is the latest example of the Government's work to deliver the classrooms schools need, faster and at a better price.

"When we came into Government, we inherited a school property system with around 350 projects that couldn't be delivered within the available funding, and classrooms costing around $1.2 million each. The system wasn't working, and schools were paying the price.

"We've taken a different approach. By using offsite construction and repeatable designs, we've brought the cost of a classroom down to around $650,000, saving more than $330 million. In three years, those savings have been reinvested into new classrooms in more schools.

"That's what better value for money looks like: getting more classrooms built, making the most of every dollar and getting students into the learning spaces they need sooner.

"Across three Budgets, we've invested around $2.7 billion in school property and fully funded nearly 1,400 additional classrooms and learning spaces. In 2024 alone, we delivered 31 per cent more classrooms than in 2023.

"We've also increased maintenance funding by $880 million across just two Budgets - more than double the increase over the previous six years combined.

"And we're investing in specialist education too, with funding for three new specialist schools - the first in nearly 50 years - and 142 specialist classrooms.

"From 1 October, school property will move into a dedicated Crown agency, with a clear focus on better value, lower costs and better service for schools."

The opening at Northcross Intermediate follows last week's celebration of a new six-classroom block at Lincoln Heights School in West Auckland.

Delivering more classrooms and new schools

Since mid-2024, the Government has:

• Funded more than 1,400 classrooms for new and existing schools to meet growing demand and support expanding rolls. More than 500 have been completed, with over 400 under construction. The remaining projects are in planning and design.
• Funded 12 new schools, with five completed, three under construction, two in design and two in planning.
• Continued to acquire land and plan for future schools in high-growth areas, including Kumeū, Wainui and Drury in Auckland, Selwyn in Canterbury and Central Otago.

"A growing school roll means we need to plan ahead and get the infrastructure in place. A standardised approach to classroom delivery is helping us do that, so students and teachers get the spaces they need sooner.