School hostel closed in Gore

The Rosmini House hostel was on the grounds of St Peter’s College in Gore.

Gore High School knocked down its hostel in 2017, and Māruawai College closed its hostel some 10 years ago.

Rosmini House had taken students from Māruawai College.

A newsletter published last November stated that the hostel was operated by a charitable trust, and that the trust board, school board and Dunedin Catholic Diocese were in discussions about how a hostel for students of St Peter’s and Māruawai might be run in the future.

Like many school boarding facilities, financial viability was a major challenge, the newsletter stated.

The Otago Daily Times reported that it is believed numbers had been falling over the last decade at Rosmini House. Families were smaller, and some were choosing schools that were further away, it said.

The closure of Rosmini House was confirmed by St Peter’s College principal Kieran Udy and by Catholic Diocese of Dunedin operations manager Paul Olsen.

The Press reported that, at the end of the 2024 school year, the hostel trust told Mr Olsen that boarding accommodation could not be offered for St Peter’s College and Māruawai College students in 2025.

“The diocese is investigating options for integrating the buildings into the wider St Peter’s College portfolio, in the interim, while all options are explored,’’ Mr Olsen said.

FULL STORY

https://www.odt.co.nz/southland/school-boarding-house-closed (By Steve Hepburn/Otago Daily Times)

https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360556882/end-era-gores-st-peters-college-closes-its-boarding-hostel (The Press)