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West Coast education
Educational options on the West Coast include modern Early Childhood Education facilities and a good selection of primary and secondary schools.
Looking for general education information?
Vocationally oriented tertiary education is available from Tai Poutini Polytechnic, based at Greymouth with campuses at Westport, Reefton and Hokitika.
If your children are New Zealand residents, permanent residents or citizens (this includes Tokelauans, Cook Islanders and Niueans), or they hold a student visa based on your temporary work visa, they can attend primary and secondary schools as domestic students. If this is not the case, you should check to see if they need visas.
Early childhood education
There are around 26 options for early childhood education (ECE) in the West Coast region. These ECE centres are listed on the Education Counts website.
There are many different types of early childhood services. A key difference between these services is how much involvement they expect of the child's parents and family. The main types of early childhood education services are described on the Education Review Office website.
Types of early childhood education services | Education Review Office
Playgroups
Playgroups are informal sessions where caregivers and children aged 0-5 meet together in a relaxed environment. In a playgroup, parents and caregivers stay to interact with the other adults and to play with the children.
Playgroups are usually set up and run by parents and caregivers, with children choosing from a range of activities. Activities at playgroup are either free or low cost, and may include music and singing, imaginative play, outdoor and free play, or arts and crafts.
Playgroups in the West Coast region | Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB)
Find a school
Search the Education counts website for single sex or co-educational schools and boarding schools in the region.
Information is provided on student population and attainment for each school, decile rating, website and street address as well as a link to their Education review office report.
More information on the types of schooling available in New Zealand and what qualifications are offered there can be found on the School System page.
Check school zones
Not all schools have an enrolment zone, but if they do the school will have a Show/ Hide Enrolment zone option, and a blue marker. If you click either option a zone will appear on the map.
This website also shows transport options for the school. TKI is a service of the Ministry of Education.
Tertiary education
Tai Poutini Polytechnic -Tertiary education in the West Coast Region is provided by Tai Poutini Polytechnic.
careers.govt.nz - A list of tertiary courses available in the West Coast region.
Adult Community Education
Tai Poutini Polytechnic - Community Education on the coast is delivered by Tai Poutini Polytechnic. To see what's available, check their website.