A Northland school says it will continue operating its unit for senior students despite a Ministry of Education direction that it be shut down.
Education Minister Ann Tolley told Moerewa School late in 2011 to end its arrangements for teaching year 10 to 13 students.
School principal Keri Milne-Ihimaera says staff believe in the programme and there are no plans to discontinue it.
She say the success the unit has achieved with Maori students means the programme is too important to stop and needs to continue beyond the end of 2012.
Ms Milne-Ihimaera says the school's NCEA marks are currently undergoing an NZQA audit, but the interim results are above national levels.