Some schools are scrambling to fill teaching positions before term one.

About 450 teaching and principal roles remain vacant - 12 percent more than this time last year.

About 75 percent are in the North Island, with 125 in Auckland.

The principal of Auckland's Northcote College, Vicki Barrie, says they’ll likely start the year with gaps in carpentry and Māori studies.

"We've got some flexibility within the timetable and the teachers that we've already got, so we're making changes to the timetable to cover it temporarily." 

LISTEN ABOVE

• Auckland schools hit hardest as 445 teacher roles sit vacant nationwide