Some schools face falling enrolments as the number of school-aged children drops over the coming decade.
The latest Education Ministry forecast shows the number of school children dipped this year and will increase slightly next year before beginning a steady decline.
By 2032 there could be about 789,000 children at school, the lowest figure since 2016 and about 30,000 fewer than this year.
Education correspondent John Gerritsen has been looking at the data.
