A traditional waiata from Golden Sands Papamoa pupils greeted Education Minister Hekia Parata, who made a flying visit to two Papamoa East schools today.

She also made a mid-morning visit to Papamoa College, where the Minister took a tour and met with senior staff and board members.

Education Minister Hekia Parata. Photos: Bruce Barnard.

'Actually the main point of my visit is to understand how well the kids are doing,” she said when asked why she was visiting.

'It's also to see what the challenges are and what sort of feedback the principal, the teachers and the board needs

'It has been a very positive discussion that we've had.

'Papamoa, as we know, is a relatively new school so I'm interested in their particular and different experiences as a result of that.

'This is a significant growth area which will be of interest for me as Minister of Education for planning in the medium and long term.

'I'm not specifically here to talk about particular property issues, but obviously that's part and parcel of our consideration.”