By Amanda Durry  February 9 2010

 Netherby School has opened the year with a booming roll and could be setting a precedent for the year to come in the district’s schools.

The roll for the beginning of 2009 was around 115 pupils but has shot up to 132 this year, including 12 new families to the area.

Several schools around the district have already started the year with higher than expected numbers and others are expecting growth throughout the year.

The start of the new dairying year will also bring about change to rolls.

The growth marks an exciting time for the Netherby, which has been steadily growing for the past few years, and means they are on the hunt for a sixth teacher.

The most significant growth has been in the Year 2 age group and of the schools six new entrants, three are new families.

Other new pupils are sprinkled among the year levels. Principal Andrew Leverton said the growth certainly made him happy as a principal.

“There have been quite a lot of people moving into the area from out of town and that has contributed significantly to what we’re going through at the moment. I think people are feeling good about the school which is great.

“All schools will be having new families but I’ve been talking to some of the teachers who have been here a bit longer and they’ve said it’s quite unprecedented for Netherby. What we have in proportion to the roll is quite a big growth,” he said.

The growth had caught the school on the hop, with a sixth class planned to start in term 2 or 3.

It would now definitely be started in term 2 and was likely to be a Year 3 and 4 class or Year 4 and 5.

In the meantime, pupils were in existing classrooms while a sixth teacher was found.