Archive #51/65: Integration, 1998

It was a move which would have far-reaching repercussions for all aspects of the school and would mould the school into what it is today.

From the time that it was first mooted by the government of the day, integration had been considered as a possibility for Lindisfarne but the disadvantages were considered to outweigh the advantages. In 1997, however, the issue became more pressing as a change to the Education Act put a time limit on the possibility of schools taking up the opportunity to integrate. Although some Hawke’s Bay independent schools expressed a reluctance to integrate, the Lindisfarne College Council approached the problem with a desire to gather more information on the topic. With this brief in mind, the Chairman, Dr Wakeman, set out to appraise both sides of the issue.

The Rector, Mr. Smith reported in 1999 that “Dr Wakeman has spent hours going over the finer points of property, financial contracts and expenditure”. Dr Wakeman, in his report, stated that the differences between an independent and an integrated school very not as substantial as he had first thought: “The same body of Trustees owns the school property before and after integration.” The difference was that after integration the government would pay for the maintenance of those buildings. Some buildings and facilities had to be brought up to the standard of state schools before maintenance would be paid for and the most substantial of these were the Homestead/ Administration Block and the Technology Block.

With all evidence gathered and considered, the Council made the decision to move forward with integration and this was accepted by the Ministry of Education at the end of 1998. Both Mr Smith and Dr Wakeman assured the Lindisfarne community in their end of year addresses, that the principles on which Lindisfarne was founded would not be altered by integration, that the school would retain its ethos and that the interests of the boys would remain paramount in all decisions.

As a result of the Ministry of Education taking over the payment of teachers’ salaries, the most important effect of integration was that school fees were effectively halved and this resulted in an immediate increase in applications for 1999. An extensive project of renovation and refurbishment was undertaken in the Homestead to bring it up to the standard required.

The staffroom was remodelled and the ceiling strengthened, new administration offices were added where the library had been and the entire Homestead roof was re-tiled. There were also upgrades to the Technology department and these were ongoing over several years. By the end of 1999, the Rector was able to tell parents in his annual report that any doubts about integration had been effectively quashed during the year and that “Lindisfarne is poised on the threshold of a boom time quite unprecedented in the College’s history”.

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