Applications surge for limited places in Auckland private schools

Competition for entry into Auckland's private schools is so intense that applicants are facing an increasing number of screening tests to secure a place in 2026.

Schools say the tests are needed due to a surge in demand for places, noting that it isn't feasible to interview all applicants for a spot.

Auckland resident Dora Cao has applied to three private schools for her 12-year-old daughter's Year 9 entry in 2026 over the past 13 months.

Pinehurst School on Auckland's North Shore was high on her wish list.

In March, Cao received an email from Pinehurst requesting a short, two-minute video that gave the school a glimpse into the family's life.

Her daughter was encouraged to discuss her school life, interests and extracurricular activities in the video.

In addition to the video, applicants to Pinehurst are asked to complete an entrance test at the school that covers vocabulary, mathematics and non-verbal ability.

Pinehurst says a panel will carefully review each application, considering the video, test results and other supporting information to determine which students will advance to an in-person interview with the principal.

"The application process for Pinehurst School is very competitive, so I didn't hold much hope for the result," she said. "I just gave my daughter a try."

Population growth

Mike Waller, executive principal of Pinehurst School, says the new application process introduced last year is a response to a surge in applications.

"We have a very large number of applicants," he says. "While we would like to interview all students as we've done in the past, from a practical sense it's just no longer feasible to do that."

Waller says the school receives hundreds of applications each year across all levels - from primary school to high school - that far exceeds the number of available places.

Pinehurst says Year 7 and Year 9 are the main entry points into the college, with the school welcoming around 30 new students into Year 7 and 15 new students into Year 9 each year.

Applicants who are not selected for an interview or offered a place at the school are placed on a waiting list in case a spot becomes available.

However, Waller says gaining entry at higher year levels is difficult.

"Traditionally, the school has 100 students in Year 8 and 100 in Year 9," he says. "So, the only intake is if children leave the school, which is a very low number."

Waller says the school has decided to expand its Year 9 intake by an additional 24 students from next year, but that won't help meet current demand.

A sharp increase in population and limited private school options on the North Shore have spurred the surge in applications, he says.

"There are a huge number of families moving to the North Shore," he says. "[But] there are only two large private schools in the area."

The other private educational institution on the North Shore is Kristin School, which is located in Albany.

Waller says most applicants are of European or Asian descent, with many Asian applicants being second-generation New Zealanders.

He says the high volume of applications puts pressure on the process, but it has been designed to ensure fairness.

"It's time-consuming because there are a lot of kids," he says. "[But] it's absolutely worth it, because we show respect to everyone."

"We want applicants to understand that we've given each one a fair and reasonable review before making final decisions about who we'll interview."

Applications close

Diocesan School for Girls, a private school in the Auckland suburb of Epsom, is also facing a surge in applications.

The school says applications for 2025 and 2026 have already closed, with many year levels at full capacity for 2026.

Any applications that come in for preschool to Year 10 will be automatically placed on a wait list.

Currently, the school is only accepting applications for 2027.

Heather McRae, principal of Diocesan School for Girls, says demand has steadily increased over the past five to six years - and continues to grow at pace.

"The number of applications has been going up massively each year," she says.

McRae says the school's current roll stands at 1730 students.

The largest entry points for Diocesan School for Girls are Year 0, Year 1 and Year 4 in primary school, and Year 7 and Year 9 in high school, she says, noting a significant rise in applications for Year 11 in recent years.

McRae says the growing demand brings logistical challenges for the school but also reflects a rising interest among families in an all-girls learning environment and its values-based education.

While the school has not changed its selection criteria, McRae says it has refined the application process.

"We would love to take more [students]," she says. "But it is about the facilities and maximizing the opportunities of the spaces we've got.

"Quality is still really important to us, and we like to keep class sizes at a certain, so that every student gets the best possible opportunity to learn."

Learning needs

Guy Pascoe, chief executive of Independent Schools of New Zealand, says demand for private schools is not uniform across the country, but remains particularly strong in cities such as Auckland.

He says several factors are behind the surge in applications, including smaller class sizes, specialized support, individualized programmes and the broad range of co-curricular offerings provided by private schools.

"We have seen an increase in applications from students who might have specific learning needs that aren't being met in the state system," he says.

"Maybe it's faith-based or a particular curriculum that independent schools are able to offer [such as] Cambridge or the IB [International Baccalaureate]."

He says Auckland's rapidly growing population and high value that migrant families place on education are also contributing to the surge in demand.

According to data compiled by Independent Schools of New Zealand, around 34,000 students - roughly 4 percent of the national student population - are enrolled in New Zealand's 84 private schools.

Student intakes each year vary widely, from as few as 20 students to more than 2500.

Auckland is home to 36 percent of schools under the Independent Schools of New Zealand umbrella, making the country's largest city the highest concentration of private institutions.

Pascoe says private schools are also facing funding shortfalls as they try to expand capacity, while the cost of education continues to rise.

"We would love to see more independent schools in New Zealand open up, so more families are able to choose the education they want for their child," he says. "[But] it is very difficult at the moment."

Pascoe says independent schools primarily rely on tuition fees and donations, with only a small portion of funding coming from the government through a fixed appropriation of about $40 million per year, distributed to schools on a per-student basis.