Charter agency approves roll growth to 3,000 for online school

The Charter School Agency has approved Aotearoa Infinite Academy to lift its roll to 2000 students next year and 3000 in 2028. RNZ

The school opened at the start of this year with 200 students. The approval allows a tenfold increase in 2027, and a further lift the year after.

A roll of 2000 would put it among the 30 largest schools in the country. At 3000, it would sit in the top three to five. Government funding at that size would be about $26 million a year.

The agency said the decision was based on evidence of growing demand and satisfactory results against attendance and achievement targets. It has not published the assessments behind that decision.

Principal Saira Boyle said the school had reached 600 students, with about 400 more on a waitlist. The school had earlier reported growth to 450 students after six weeks, with permission to grow to 600 in term two this year.

Boyle said daily attendance was at 90 percent or more. More than half of students attended more than 90 percent of classes, she said.

The school operates online, with classes of about 20 students. It teaches the Pearson private curriculum in Years 9 to 11 and NCEA, the national school qualification, in Years 12 and 13. It is owned by Crimson Consulting.

Aotearoa Infinite Academy was one of three new charter schools — state-funded schools run under contract by a private sponsor — announced to open in Term 1 2026, according to an October 2025 Beehive release. Beehive

An agency document sets out how per-student funding falls as the roll grows. A secondary charter school of 1005 students would receive $10,741 per student. At 2500 students, the rate would be $8892 per student.

The broader context here is scale and how it is managed inside a charter contract. A 2000 to 3000-pupil online roll is different to manage from a new physical secondary school that adds one year group at a time. Timetabling, teacher supply, pastoral support and assessment systems all have to carry that volume from the first day of term.

In my view, the figures to watch will be the performance targets the agency cited. Attendance at 90 percent and regular attendance above 90 percent are now the headline measures across the system. For an online provider, how attendance is defined and counted, and how achievement in Years 9 to 11 under Pearson lines up with NCEA in the senior years, will decide whether the expansion holds. The funding maths also matters for Vote Education, the education part of the Budget. The per-student rate falls as the roll rises, but the total Crown cost still lifts sharply to about $26 million a year.