2030 NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE No. 84

7. The dates agreed on must be no later than:

• 15 October for the deadline for applications;
• 30 October for the ballot (or for the ballot for places at new entrant, year 7 or year 9 level, as the case may be, if it has been decided to hold the ballot(s) for upper level places at a later date).

8. The notice required by 15 September must include:

• the agreed deadline date for applications;
• the agreed date(s) of the ballot(s).

Schools planning multiple pre-enrolment periods

9. The notice required by 15 September must state:

• the number of pre-enrolment periods relating to the following year;
• the dates for the application deadline and the ballot associated with each pre-enrolment period.

10. In relation to the first pre-enrolment period, all boards in a city or region must agree, by majority decision if need be, on common dates for:

• the deadline by which applications for enrolment must be received;
• the date of the ballot for enrolment places.

A city or region is defined as a territorial local authority except in the case of the areas specified in the first schedule attached to these instructions.

There is a likelihood that some students will apply for enrolment at more than one school. Co-ordination will ensure fairness for both applicants and schools. Note that the requirement to co-ordinate dates applies only to schools catering for the same range of students; dates for primary schools could be different from those for secondary schools.

The requirement to co-ordinate dates applies only to schools with enrolment schemes, but schools without enrolment schemes would no doubt appreciate being kept informed of the intentions of their neighbours.

11. In relation to the first pre-enrolment period, the dates agreed on must be no later than:

• 15 October for the deadline for applications;
• 30 October for the ballot.

12. One calendar month before the application deadline associated with each pre-enrolment period subsequent to the first, a board must, by notice in a daily or community newspaper circulating in the area served by the school:

• confirm the already advertised dates for receipt of applications and for the holding of the ballot;
• state the likely number of out of zone places that remain available.

For each pre-enrolment period subsequent to the first, individual boards may set an application deadline which they consider appropriate. In cases where neighbouring boards operate the same pattern of multiple pre-enrolment periods, it would be helpful to parents and schools if pre-enrolment dates are co-ordinated.

It may well be that parents of a pre-school child will make an application for enrolment well in advance of their child’s fifth birthday. The application should be held for inclusion in the ballot relating to the period during which the child becomes eligible for enrolment at the school. Parents should be informed of this action.

Sorting the applications

13. Before proceeding to the ballot(s), the board must consider the number of applications for enrolment that have been received from in-zone students and confirm or, if necessary, revise its estimate of the number of places available for out of zone students (in total or at specific levels, as the case may be). This number must be provided to the supervisor before the ballot takes place.

If a board is holding a ballot for places at upper levels at a later date than the ballot for places at the lowest level, before proceeding to the ballot for upper level places it must explicitly indicate to the supervisor the number of places to be balloted for at the upper levels.

14. In preparation for the ballot, applications should be sorted into the following five priority groupings specified in section 11r (1):

• applicants accepted for a special programme (see later section);
• siblings of current students;
• siblings of former students;
• children of board employees;
• all other applicants.

15. Each of the second, third, fourth and fifth priority groupings must be considered in turn. If the number of applicants within a particular priority grouping is less than the total number of remaining available places, all

A couple of examples may be helpful. Let us suppose that a secondary school determines that it has 40 spaces available at year 9 for out of zone students in the following year. Let us also suppose that of the 70 out of zone applications that it