Numbers in Auckland high schools are dwindling with more students swapping study for full-time work before they've finished their qualifications.
Years of pandemic-related disruptions have left some students so far behind they've lost motivation to catch up, and are instead choosing to enter the workforce early.
A fifth of year thirteens have already dropped out of James Cook High School in Manurewa.
Its principal Grant McMillan spoke to Susie Ferguson.
