About Us
Ararira Springs Primary will be built on a 4 hectare site in Lincoln. The school will cater for anticipated population growth in the southern area of Lincoln. It is planned to open January 2019 for Years 1-8 with design capacity for 750 students.
Stage One of the build will provide teaching spaces for 400 students with infrastructure for the full 750 students. The design will provide open, innovative learning spaces designed to enhance collaborative teaching and learning.
Te Taumutu Rūnanga has gifted the school a name relating to the local environment: Te Puna o Ararira (The Spring of Ararira). The Ararira/LII River is a spring-fed sub-catchment of Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere and is the focus catchment for the Te Waihora Living Water programme.
The Ararira/LII River is the second largest source of fresh water flowing into Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere. These flows play an important role in maintaining the Lake’s aquatic ecosystem health, particularly during summer. The Ararira/LII River links the town of Lincoln through a rural landscape, to the lake.
This name supports the new school’s aspirations for the environment and sustainability. It draws on the concept of springs and water tapping into Papatūānuku’s knowledge and nourishment of people, trees and birds.
It is likely that the school will open with fewer than 100 students and experience strong growth in the first two years, growing to the Stage One capacity of 450 in 5-6 years. Roll levels are difficult to predict as Lincoln Primary School will have a transitional ‘grand-parenting’ clause, allowing siblings of existing students to enrol at Lincoln Primary School regardless of residential address. This clause allows families to stay together at the same school after the opening of Ararira Springs Primary in 2019.