The local public school you can’t get your kids into — that makes three in Adelaide’s eastern suburbs

AN eastern suburbs primary school has frozen its enrolments for 2017 — even reception kids mighn’t get in. Two other public schools within 4km of it are also at capacity.

Picture of Front of Rose Park Primary School

• Time for a new school? Linden Park, Rose Park primary schools full
• Linden Park Primary School turning new students away
• Glenunga High restricts enrolments
• Why this local public school won’t take all your children
• 1000 homes, apartments planned for Glenside site

ROSE Park Primary School has frozen enrolments for 2017 and cannot even guarantee local children entry into Reception next year.

Student overcrowding has forced the Grant Ave school to suspend enrolments while it waits for the Education Department to finalises a cap on student numbers.

The school will still offer places to siblings of existing students.

It comes after nearby Linden Park Primary School, a 4.3km drive from Rose Park Primary, last year accepted only Reception students to help reduce overcrowding.

Glenunga International High School (GIHS), which is 3.5km from Rose Park Primary and 1.1km from Linden Park Primary, reached a student enrolment capacity in July 2015 and is currently only offering general spots to students entering it in Year 8.

Meanwhile, there are plans for up to 1000 homes, including apartment buildings as high as eight storeys, at nearby Glenside, also in the GIHS zone.

Enrolments at Rose Park have increased from 374 to 572 in the past five years on the back of strong academic results and an influx of skilled migrants into the area. The school’s capacity is 560 students.

The Liberal Party is calling for a new school in the area.

Education Department school improvement executive director Anne Millard said limiting the Rose Park Primary School’s Reception intake next year — including the enrolment of children within the school’s zone — was one option to bring numbers back to a “more appropriate” level.

“Among the options is the school only accepts enrolments of Reception students in the school zone,” Ms Millard said.

“An enrolment strategy will be created if the school receives more applications from families living in the zone than there are available.”

Ms Millard said the department would help parents whose children missed out on a place at Rose Park to enrol at a neighbouring school.

The school’s enrolment zone is bounded by Fullarton, Portrush, Greenhill and Kensington roads.

Nearby schools include Linden Park, Glen Osmond, Norwood, Parkside and Marryatville primary schools.

Ms Millard did not say when a decision on how many students Rose Park could enrol next year would be made.

Principal Brett Darcy this week referred all questions from the Eastern Courier Messenger to the department.

But in updates to parents via the school’s fortnightly newsletter, Mr Darcy said uncertainty over enrolments was creating anxiety for parents of prospective students.

He said the cap would be “both good and bad” as it would stop overcrowding but also prevent some parents enrolling children at their closest school.

“And this is often after basing their accommodation choice on getting into this school,” Mr Darcy said.

The school’s governing council chairman, David O’Loughlin, was “100 per cent supportive” of reducing student numbers but sympathised with parents who were unable to secure a place for their children at the school.

“Enrolments have increased dramatically in the past five years and, given the size of the school’s footprint, we simply do not have room to expand,” Mr O’Loughlin said.

He said the department should review its enrolment policies to ensure children were guaranteed entry into Reception at their local school.

“Around 30 per cent of our current students do not live in the area but have been able to enrol because they have siblings at the school or lived in the zone at some point,” he said.

“I do not blame the parents — they want what is best for their children — but it is something that needs to be looked at.”

Rose Park Primary School consistently achieves among the highest NAPLAN testing results in SA.

It also teaches the International Baccalaureate, an education program with a curriculum that is recognised worldwide.

Rose Park Primary School frozen enrolments for 2017. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Long-term fix needed

CAPPING student numbers at overcrowded primary schools is a temporary solution that will shift — not solve — an enrolment squeeze in Adelaide’s east, Liberal MP Vickie Chapman says.

Ms Chapman said the Education Department’s moves to freeze enrolments at Rose Park and Linden Park was evidence of a “serious problem” of student overcrowding that could only be fixed by building a new school.

“Capping enrolments does not address the fundamental issue here … all it will do is move the problem to Glen Osmond, or Burnside or Marryatville (primary schools) — all which are crowded already,” she said.

“We need another school in the area.”

Student numbers have generally increased at local primary schools in the past five years.

Enrolments at Linden Park rose to 1024, from 408, while numbers increased at Marryatville Primary School to 505, from 443.

Enrolments were stable at the district’s smaller primary schools, such as Glen Osmond, Norwood and Parkside.

Ms Chapman last year wrote to Education Minister Susan Close about building a new primary school at Glenside.

Dr Close dismissed the idea at the time, but Ms Chapman this week said she would continue her push and was prepared to work on “short, medium and long-term” solutions to fix the problem.

Ms Chapman said one short-term solution would be to move Year 11 and 12 students at Glenunga International High School to the old Massada College site, on Flemington St, Glenside.

The move would create space for a Year 7s class at Glenunga’s Conyngham St campus, she said.

Dr Close this week said there was enough space for students at local schools.

“There is capacity to accommodate growth in enrolments in schools across Adelaide’s east,” she said.

“We are continually monitoring school capacity and will always ensure there are enough places for students.”

TELL US BELOW: Do you live in the area? Are you concerned?