Photo: 123RF
Mike Hollings is retiring after 17 years at the helm of the country's biggest school , Te Kura, previously known as The Correspondence School.
Enrolments at Te Kura have increased by more than 2,000 in the past year to 30,000 students - the equivalent of about 60 schools.
The biggest increase is in the so-called "non-enrolled" category where a a student's previous school has taken them off the roll because they weren't attending.
Yesterday new data showed 15-percent of last year's school leavers had no qualifications, and 20-percent were under the age of 17.
So how does Te Kura keep young people with a range of challenges in the education system, and should it have a greater role for as a first school of choice rather than school of last resort?
Mike Hollings speaks with Kathryn on the eve of his retirement.
