Choosing a school

Schools in New Zealand are grouped into areas known as 'zones'.  Children living inside the zone for a school are guaranteed a place there.

You can apply for your children to go to a school in a different zone, but children living within that school's zone will get first preference. 

Some schools do not have zones, so you can enrol your chidren there no matter where you live. Examples of these schools include schools with a ‘special character’ such as Catholic or Montessori schools. Students are given places based on who will benefit most from that school’s special character.

Private schools also generally do not have zoning restrictions.

Schools which only enrol children in their local zone are usually strict about it. So it pays to think carefully about school zones when you are deciding where you want to live.

To find out which schools you are in the zone for, search the Education Counts website.

The Ministry of Education's website has more information about New Zealand schools, how to to choose a school and how to enrol your children.

Find a school in your zone | Education Counts

School zones and how they work | Ministry of Education 

Types of schools

Getting to school

Something to consider when choosing a school is how your children will get there. 

There are primary schools in every suburb and town, sometimes several of them. Most New Zealand primary school pupils can walk or ride their bikes to school but some parents choose to drive them.

Many younger pupils travel in a ‘walking school bus’ – an organised and supervised group walking in a line. This is a good way for your child to meet other children who may not be in their class at school.

Intermediate and secondary schools tend to be bigger than primary schools. They serve a much wider geographic area so there are usually fewer of them. Children are more likely to ride their bike or use public transport to get to school. 

Some schools are eligible for a transport subsidy. That means either they provide a special school bus service for pupils, or parents qualify for an allowance to help with transport costs.

You can find out more about eligibility, entitlement zones, bus routes, school bus safety and travel assistance for students with special needs in the school transport section of the Ministry of Education's website.

School transport | Ministry of Education

Find a school in your zone | Education Counts

Researching schools

There are many ways to find information about the schools you are considering for your children.

School records

The Ministry of Education's Education Counts website has useful data about schools, including the number of pupils, attendance records, and how the students are performing against National Standards or qualifications.

 

Schooling is compulsory in New Zealand from age six to 16. 

The Education Review Office (ERO) website has a link to each school’s performance report. ERO is the government office that assesses the performance of schools. It assesses every school in New Zealand at least once every three years and publishes its reports online.

ERO reports | Education Review Office

School statistics | Education Counts

School websites

Schools in New Zealand also have their own websites. Visit school websites to find out about:

• costs
• uniforms
• food options, eg whether they have a cafeteria
• extra curricular activities, such as sports, arts, special subjects
• whether before and after school care is available.

School visits

You should visit the school in person, speak to the staff and check for yourself what its grounds and facilities are like.

Contact the school directly and either make an appointment or ask when it will be holding its next ‘Open Day’ (a day when anyone can visit and look around the school).

New Zealand's education system and how it compares

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The school system here is so lovely
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the teachers and the system surrounding the teachers
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is so supportive and helpful
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I really enjoy it here in New Zeeland and at this school that have never worked in such a big school in my life
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It's more diverse here
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There's loads of different nationalities and cultures and everyone supports each other
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Whereas back in the UK, we didn't have that as much.
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The boys in our kindy has a lot of freedom in this kindergarten for them to
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sort of enjoy and explore themselves
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At the beginning days, I was really concerned about Michelle's language
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because she never speaks English, but
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Anyway, she'll be fine and the teacher told me that because kids just need to play.
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Play is the common language among kids
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I'm at Hataitai Playcentre and it's based on the idea of
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learning through play
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It's done them wonders because they learned in such a caring collaborative environment.
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So when they go to school
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my son the transition was effortless.
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The focus on testing in the US is pretty high and
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Here at least through elementary and intermediate school. There hasn't been hardly any testing and not much homework
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there are pluses and minuses to that but the positive side is kids are only kids once.
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Leah was able to go online and find
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out how the school's structured their classes and a little bit indeed that their philosophies, but there are also
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Ratings by the Education Department and with the quality of their tuition
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We needed to move to a country
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Where should they want to go down there that route of going to university?
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They're fairly able to compete on an even keel with anyone else, but not to be limited by
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You know by who you are.
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Sean went to school.
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He took his shoes off and became a little kiwi boy every day
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When he came back from school I was asking is really everything okay with you at school,
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and he said one day "just stop asking".
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So it was good.

Decile rating

The government uses a calculation to decide how much funding a school needs. It reflects the percentage of the school’s students that live in low socio-economic or poorer communities. Lower decile schools have more students living in poorer communities.

The decile rating is a reflection of the community the school serves, not a measure of the school’s quality.

See the Ministry of Education website for more information about deciles and how they are calculated.

Find a school's decile rating | Ministry of Education

Deciles - questions and answers | Ministry of Education

Choosing a school | Ministry of Education