A teachers' union says the plan to merge four Christchurch schools into one is an experiment by the Government.
Aranui High School, Aranui Primary, Wainoni and Avondale schools will merge to form a Year 1 to Year 13 school on the high school's site, under plans announced by the Ministry of Education on Wednesday.
The new school will have a combined roll of about 1000 and will begin operating from 2017.
A fifth school in the area that was initially proposed to merge, Chisnallwood Intermediate, will stay open.
New Zealand Educational Institute national president Judith Nowotarski says there is no research eveidence to show putting large numbers of pupils together will help lift their achievement.
"On top of that Christchurch children have been through an immense upheaval and so have their families, their communities - is this the best timing or the best way to address their needs right now?"
The schools would now have six weeks to respond to the interim decision before the final decision is announced in September.
