Preference Enrolment

A Parish Priest must decide on preference before the school’s Principal may consider enrolling a student. Parents should contact their local parish to arrange an appointment with the Parish Priest so that they may consider your case. The criteria they may select from to determine preference is stated below:

Preference Criteria

• 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 siblings to become baptised in the Catholic faith.
• 5.3 At least one parent/guardian is a Catholic, and although their child is not yet 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 are preparing to become a Catholic. 

If you qualify, the Parish Priest will then sign a Preference of Enrolment Certificate that you must scan and include with your online application.

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

Contributing Catholic Feeder Schools

Places will be offered FIRST to preference students who attend the following Contributing Catholic Feeder Schools:

• Marian Catholic School, Hamilton East 
• St Anthony’s Catholic School, Huntly 
• St Columbas Catholic School, Frankton 
• St Joseph’s Catholic School, Fairfield 
• St Joseph’s Catholic School, Morrinsville 
• St Joseph’s Catholic School, Te Aroha 
• St Joseph’s Catholic School, Te Kuiti 
• St Mary’s Catholic School, Otorohanga 
• St Patrick’s Catholic School, Te Awamutu 
• St Patrick’s Catholic School, Taumarunui
• St Paul’s Catholic School, Ngaruawahia 
• St Peter’s Catholic School, Cambridge 
• St Peter Chanel Catholic School, Te Rapa 
• St Pius X School, Melville 

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 must be signed by a parish priest or other authorised agent of the Bishop. It is standard 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 school name the family intends to make an enrolment application for must be specified on the certificate. If you want to apply for enrolment at several 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, e.g. 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 applying for a Preference for Enrolment, under criteria 5.3 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 significant adult’s responsibility to provide 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 Bishops’ agents grant preference, and they are the only people who may do so. Schools then decide which students they will accept for enrolment. 

Ready to enrol – Click Here.

Waitlist

We have a waitlist when year levels are full or when the school roll reaches its maximum capacity (925). If you meet the criteria for enrolment, you may ask to be placed on this waitlist. However, some applications may be declined.