The under fire private school at the Gloriavale religious commune is set to close.

Education bosses announced the move this afternoon after months of speculation about the school’s future.

Secretary for Education Ellen MacGregor-Reid said the school was informed of the decision earlier today.

The cancellation of its registration - under Clause 12, Schedule 7 of the Education and Training Act - will take effect from January 23, 2026.

“The reasons for the decision include insufficient evidence provided by the school to assure it is consistently meeting all the criteria for registration of a private school, and no evidence to suggest that providing further time will ensure the school will become compliant,” MacGregor-Reid said.

“In July the Education Review Office highlighted ongoing concerns about the physical and emotional safety of students. The Secretary considers the evidence provided by the school since, is insufficient to provide assurance that these concerns have been addressed.”

MacGregor-Reid said “considerable support” had been provided to the board and staff of Gloriavale Christian School over the past two years.

But the school still had not been able to satisfy the requests of education bosses.

“Despite two Notices to Comply and Ministry and external support, the school has been unable to demonstrate full compliance and there is insufficient evidence of progress,” MacGregor-Reid said.

“I remain concerned that these students are not being educated within an emotionally and physically safe school environment. After a period of engagement with the school and community, and consideration of the evidence, I have decided that cancellation of the school’s registration is necessary.”

MacGregor-Reid said the Ministry was “absolutely committed” to the education of Gloriavale students.

“Support will be provided for students and families during the transition so that education is in place for term 1 2026.”

In October, the Ministry of Education (MOE) put leaders of Gloriavale on notice that it was considering closing its private school based on “serious concerns” raised in ERO audits that it was not a physically or mentally safe place for children.

Gloriavale was given a five-week period and a deadline of November 6 to provide its response.

That deadline was extended a further week, and Gloriavale provided its submission why the school should remain open. The ministry said it was “carefully reviewing” it before making a decision.

While education officials considered the potential forced closure of the Gloriavale commune's private school, high-profile community leaver Pearl Valor (inset), has spoken of how schooling for girls focused on “what a women's place was". New Zealand Herald composite photo

About 220 children are schooled inside Gloriavale, located on the West Coast.

Just under 100 go to the private school, which teaches children up to the age of 15, in a ministry-approved homeschooling programme.

The ERO recently confirmed to the Herald that it was also reviewing Gloriavale’s homeschooling system.

Education officials have now made a decision on Gloriavale Christian Community's school. Photo / NZME

If both the school is closed and homeschooling permissions are withdrawn, about 220 children will need to leave the commune daily to attend public schools on the outside.

Since 2023, the ERO has been asking Gloriavale to allow full attendance to children with “complex additional needs”.

The curriculum has also been criticised as sexist. Senior schooling – to the age of 15 – teaches girls sewing, cooking and childcare. Boys are taught subjects such as farming, carpentry and engineering.

Gloriavale leaver: ‘The education we were provided was... what a woman’s place was’

Gloriavale was home for Pearl Valor until she and her husband, Paul, decided to leave in December 2021.

The couple – who then had four young children – have featured in documentary series Gloriavale – Life and Death and Gloriavale: A World Apart, including footage of their courtship and eventual marriage.

Pearl Valor gives evidence during an employment court hearing into Gloriavale. Photo / NZME

Those documentaries also touched on the limited education offered to boys and girls in the commune.

Gloriavale’s material says it is “not interested in education for the sake of education, nor in placing our people in university campuses where ungodly attitudes can prevail”.

“We are interested in education only where it can equip us to meet the needs of our community life,” the religious community leaders state.

For boys, that includes learning about building, engineering and farming.

Pearl Valor while appearing in the TVNZ documentary Gloriavale - Life and Death . Photo / TVNZ

For girls, Valor says she and others were taught about “running a household, looking after children, sewing, cooking, cleaning...”

“Basically, the education we were provided was what a woman’s place was in the society we were in,” Valor told the Herald.

“A woman’s place in Gloriavale was to be a keeper at home and a mum. So, [we were taught] anything that fitted into that role. If it didn’t, it just wasn’t an option.”

Those living in the community were told “this is normal and this is right”, Valor said.

While she was there, she had an internal awareness that it wasn’t right, “but there’s no way to express it”.

Valor – who now has five children – said she realised after leaving Gloriavale “how much I’d missed out on” education-wise.

She has now enrolled for tertiary studies.

Valor and her husband left because they wanted their children “to have better than me and to have safety”.

The Gloriavale Christian Community located at Haupiri on the West Coast of the South Island. Photo / Corey Fleming

“It’s just about having the choices available to them, and they can make good decisions with the education and choices that they’re offered,” she said.

Gloriavale leadership have previously told the Herald they would not publicly comment whether they believed their school was up to standard.

“We will not be making comments on this while the matter is under investigation,” a statement said.

‘It’s about giving your children the best opportunity for life’

A meeting was recently held in Gloriavale last Tuesday night where leaders talked to commune members about education and the ongoing wrangle with the MOE and the ERO.

Valor said the majority living in the community would have little idea of the variety and length of education their children could get in the outside world.

Farm buildings and a plant at the Gloriavale commune. Photo / Corey Fleming

She believed if the school was closed, parents would soon be happy to send their kids outside the commune for schooling.

“I feel the parents, if they had options, they would make better choices for their kids,” she said.

“But from what they are offered in the community, they think that’s normal and they think it’s good because that’s what they’re told.

“But once they’re aware there’s more options, I think they would make really good choices for their children.”

The Herald revealed last month that some West Coast schools were pro-actively investigating how they will upscale and absorb the children of Gloriavale should the decision be made to close the religious commune’s school.

Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad (inset) has spoken out with her concerns about Gloriavale's private school after a succession of failings revealed in Education Review Office documents. New Zealand Herald composite photo

Multiple buses and drivers will be needed for the job – and the local schools will need new teachers, classrooms and other specialist support.

A local education source told the Herald that counsellors would likely be needed to help the children adjust to the outside world.

Complex decisions will need to be made on clothing: local schools have uniforms that expose the lower limbs – something the children, who have worn Gloriavale clothing since birth, will not be used to.

Valor said closure would lead to a “really hard transition for the children and the parents”, but one that could benefit youngsters.

“There’s going to need to be a lot of support, support systems and scaffolding.”

Gloriavale leavers’ advocate’s ‘deep sorrow’ over limited education

Over the past two months, head of the Gloriavale Leavers’ Trust Liz Gregory intensified her calls for the school to be closed until commune leaders could prove it was a safe environment for children.

It is a view she said is shared by former members of the religious community that she has helped resettle in the wider community.

Liz Gregory, manager of Gloriavale Leavers' Trust, wants the school closed until it can be proven it is a safe environment for children. Photo / NZME

She described the scope of education offered to girls as akin to “Victorian England”.

As well as the housekeeping and domestic life tasks, they were also taught “very basic English and maths”.

“Certainly nothing like the breadth of the English and maths curriculum that you would expect out here [in the wider community],” Gregory said.

“It’s a very old view of women and the lack of need for them to have any academic rigour.

Gregory has spoken to leavers – both adults and school-aged – who feel they have been left behind education-wise because of their time in Gloriavale.

Education officials have spent a lot of time considering the future of Gloriavale's private school, which previously has been the subjects of allegations its curriculum is sexist against girls. New Zealand Herald composite photo

“A lot of leavers feel very ripped off and upset about the lack of opportunities they experienced now that they know what is available in the realms of education.”

Gregory believed the education offered at Gloriavale is solely based around ensuring students were prepared for the jobs they would need to do in later years within the community.

Her work in the trust brought her happiness to see former members enjoy a full range of life in the wider community.

At the same time, hearing stories on what they had missed out on education-wise was heartbreaking.

“I feel a deep sorrow that Gloriavale has limited male and female, learning and development,” she said.

“I feel a sadness. It’s like, they had this portion of their life stolen from them... it was theft of something that other people in New Zealand have a right to.”

Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 33 years of newsroom experience.