Enrolment Policy

The daily life of the College shall be permeated with the values of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Catholic Church. Special links will be maintained with the Sisters of the Missions as the College founders and their special charism reinforced in the College.

As a Catholic Secondary School, priority of enrolment is given to students who can show connection with the Catholic faith. We also welcome enrolments from non-Catholic students, especially those who attend Catholic Primary Schools and those seeking a values based education for their daughter as a small number of places are reserved for non-preference students.

Our full Enrolment Policy (Board of Trustees) can be found here.

Priority for Enrolment:

Catholic schools are bound by law to enrol a majority of students (usually 95%) for whom it can be established there is “particular or general religious connection with the Catholic Character of the school.” A Parish Priest must decide on preference before the school’s Principal may consider enrolling a student. The criteria the Parish Priest may select from to determine preference are:

5.1 The child has been baptised or is being prepared for baptism in the Catholic Church.
5.2 The child’s parents/guardians have already allowed one or more of its siblings to be baptised in the Catholic faith.
5.3 At least one parent/guardian is a Catholic, and although their child has not yet been baptised, the child’s participation in the life of the school could lead to the parents having the child baptised.
5.4 With the agreement of the child’s parent/guardian, a significant familial adult such as a grandparent, aunt or uncle who is actively involved in the child’s upbringing undertakes to support the child’s formation in the faith and practices of the Catholic Church.
5.5 One or both of a child’s non-Catholic parents/guardians is preparing to become a Catholic.

If you believe your daughter qualifies for Preference for Enrolment, you should make an appointment with your Parish Priest so that he may consider your case. He will have a copy of the relevant form. If he can be presented with sufficient evidence, he will sign that form to grant preference. You must scan and include the form with your on-line application (or present a copy to the school), so that your daughter might be considered for enrolment.

NZ Catholic Education Office (NZCEO) Guidelines for Grant Preference can be found here.

Important Notes:

In seeking a Preference for Enrolment at a Catholic School you need to make a commitment to actively support your child in her faith formation and the practices of the Catholic Church.
The Diocesan Preference Certificate needs to be signed by a Parish Priest or other authorised agent of the Bishop. It is normal practice to make an appointment with the Priest.
A new Preference Certificate is required for each child in the family.
Preference Certificates are school specific. The name of the school the family intends to make an application for enrolment to, must be specified on the Certificate. If you intend to apply for enrolment at a number of different Catholic schools you should have the required number of Preference Certificates and ask the Priest to sign these during the one interview.
A new Preference Certificate is required for transfer to another school, eg Primary to Secondary school. In some exceptional circumstances the preference status of your child could change.
The school keeps the Preference Certificate – not the family.
If you are applying for a Preference for Enrolment under criteria 5.2 which reads “At least one parent/guardian is a Catholic, and although their child has not yet been baptised, the child’s participation in the life of the school could lead to the parents having the child baptised,” it is important to recognise that one parent/guardian being Catholic is not sufficient in itself to guarantee that Preference will be granted. The second part of the sentence has equal weight with the first.
If you are applying for a Preference for Enrolment under criteria 5.4 the significant adult in the child’s life, who is undertaking to support your child’s formation in the faith and practices of the Catholic Church, needs to accompany you to the meeting with the Priest when seeking preference of enrolment.
It is the responsibility of the significant adult to provide some evidence to show they are an active member of the Catholic Church, if not personally known to the person granting a Preference for Enrolment.
Priests and Bishop’s Agents grant Preference and they are the only people who may do so. Schools then decide which students they will accept for enrolment.

Non-Preference Enrolment:

Our College has a maximum of 36 non-preference students that may be enrolled at any time as per the terms of our Integration Agreement.

The following criteria will be considered for non-preference students where places are available. If no place is available, we may place the student on a waiting list.

Siblings currently or previously enrolled
Past pupil connection, ie. parent or grandparent
Student who can demonstrate an established connection with the Diocese
Daughters of current staff or of Board of Trustee members
Students currently attending a Catholic school

Furthermore the Principal will establish that the family:

Has a wish for a Catholic Character education for their daughter
Will support the school in matters relating to Catholic Character
Will make every endeavor to pay Attendance Dues
Has great desire and acknowledges the benefits of having their daughter attend Sacred Heart Girls’ College rather than another school.

The selection for enrolment of non-preference students will be determined by the Principal.

Note: Enrolment will not be reliable on the ability to pay fees. Participation in the general school programme that gives the school its Catholic Character is a condition of enrolment.

Waiting List:

Unsuccessful applicants may choose to have their names placed on a waiting list. Students may be offered a place at a later date if one becomes available.