[twoplankskier]

hello,
i was wondering if anyone knew about the areas of Christchurch. what places are good to live in. what places you should stay out of. also if i could get some info on the schools in Christchurch that would be great.
thanks!
Tps

:raebanana

[benandclare]

Sorry no tips for schools but we kinnda like Queenspark/Parklands........

12 Mins walk to the beach........

1 Min bike to Bottle Lake Forest......

5 Min drive to Windsor golf club........

Shops and library 5 Min bike ride away..........

Ticks all our boxes :raebanana :raebanana

[twoplankskier]

thanks for the reply.
parklands sounds nice although we were looking for somewhere closer to a high school and the city. maybe the west side?

[Rusty]

Sorry no tips for schools but we kinnda like Queenspark/Parklands........

12 Mins walk to the beach........

1 Min bike to Bottle Lake Forest......

5 Min drive to Windsor golf club........

Shops and library 5 Min bike ride away..........

Ticks all our boxes :raebanana :raebanana

That's where we are going :nice1

[benandclare]

:clap good shout :D we'll put some Bubbly on ice to welcome you :D

[veronica]

if you a skier then the west side is nearest the mountains, we have a ski shop just to the west of the city so have a bit of ski info if you need any. hopefully when you get here we will get to meet you.

[benandclare]

if you a skier then the west side is nearest the mountains, we have a ski shop just to the west of the city so have a bit of ski info if you need any. hopefully when you get here we will get to meet you.


Do you organise Snowboard lesson? Will be treating Sam to some when he arrives in June :cheers

[twoplankskier]

yeah were big skiers:nice1 what are the neighborhoods like on the west side. maybe Burnside, Bryndwr, or Riccarton...around that area

[Rusty]

:clap good shout :D we'll put some Bubbly on ice to welcome you :D

I hope that was for us - sound good.:cheers
We will start at my sisters - Lamorna rd and then try to find a rental, see what we can find.

[mikewalkerfrom]

Hi There,
We arrive in Christchurch mid April (fingers crossed). We got 2 small children and are looking at schools also. I've attempted to upload a spreadsheet with the most current decile ratings for Christchurch schools (10 being brilliant, 1 being... well lets say not very good at all)
I'll PM it to you if it hasn't appeared in this thread.
Hope it helps
Mike

ps. We're looking at the Burnside area

pps. Big skier also!

[mikewalkerfrom]

Sorry, I had to make the file smaller and put it in a .zip file.

Hope it attaches this time

[IanW99]

Hi There,
We arrive in Christchurch mid April (fingers crossed). We got 2 small children and are looking at schools also. I've attempted to upload a spreadsheet with the most current decile ratings for Christchurch schools (10 being brilliant, 1 being... well lets say not very good at all)
I'll PM it to you if it hasn't appeared in this thread.
Hope it helps
Mike

ps. We're looking at the Burnside area

pps. Big skier also!

You do actually understand decile ratings don't you?

They have nothing to do with the academic results of the schools (well not directly anyway)?

Ian

[mikewalkerfrom]

I have a feeling I'm about to learn something...

I thought deciles were to do with the "make up" of the school.... The decile is made up of things like parental income, types of people living in neighbourhood (i.e. whether a higher percentage is on income support etc) and things like that.

I actually thought there was an element of educational performance in there too....

Have I got it comepletely wrong?

[IanW99]

I have a feeling I'm about to learn something...

I thought deciles were to do with the "make up" of the school.... The decile is made up of things like parental income, types of people living in neighbourhood (i.e. whether a higher percentage is on income support etc) and things like that.

I actually thought there was an element of educational performance in there too....

Have I got it comepletely wrong?

No, you are on the right track, just your 'brilliant' comments didn't appear to match. Unless you mean you are happy having to pay more to fund your childs education?

From the Education Review Office website:-

What is a decile ranking or rating?

The Ministry of Education uses a decile rating (ranking) system for school funding purposes. Each decile contains approximately 10% of schools. Schools in decile one have the highest proportion of students from low socio-economic backgrounds. Schools in decile 10 have the lowest proportion of these students.

So, no there is no direct link with educational performance.

Ian

[mikewalkerfrom]

Is there a similar ranking for academic performance in NZ schools then?

[IanW99]

Is there a similar ranking for academic performance in NZ schools then?

Sorry, can't answer that question. For us, we found a location to live that we were happy with and then checked out all the schools in the area by checking their details here:- ERO Schools Education Review (http://www.ero.govt.nz/ero/publishing.nsf/Content/Home+Page)

From these reviews, then visited the favourites and decided from that.

I do seem to remember seeing a rating of school performance in the past, can't remember where though, maybe someone else knows?

Ian

[mikewalkerfrom]

Thanks for that link Ian, it makes interesting reading and will gives us a bit more confidence on the areas we're looking at.

[Grey Granite]

Quick question for Veronica, and I have a feeling I know what you might say....

I have skiied for a good few years both in Scotland/Europe and Canada. The last time I did a decent amount of skiing was in Canada in 92!

I was seriously considering selling my gear before we came over, not intending to ski here ever again, but last weekend we went up to the Lecht and had a cracking day (albeit sheet ice). Mind you, they say if you can ski in Scotland, you can ski anywhere!

My OH doesn't have his own kit, and we were contemplating kitting him out in intermediate stuff from the sales before we come over.

Is it worth our while kitting him, and maybe replacing my boots here before we come?

I know its cheeky, seeing as you actually run a shop there, but what do you think?

We are gradually replacing our leathers/boots/helmets for motorcycling as we know for a fact that that type of kit is inordinately expensive in NZ and there's less to choose from....... Similarly we've replaced (and not used) our exped tent.

Cheers

Mrs Granite

PS:Still waiting for our EOI to be accepted, but aye hoping with 135 points and no job offer yet............. and we'd love to end up nr Christchurch, it ticks all our boxes!

[matthew]

I've just done a reconnaisance visit of Chch..so here goes

Best state high schools appear to be Boys High and Girls High, followed by Burnside High. Cashmere High was also recommended. (Other ones that seem to have improved include Papanui and Riccarton High.)

Internediate schools that were mentioned were Cobham.

Primary/junior schools included those in Avonhead area e.g. Westburn (includes intermediate).

One thing that is apparent is that schools are zoned and you're unlikely to get in if you are out of zone. The Boys high and girls high have ballots for extra spaces! So this affects rental prices and house prics too!

Hope that's helpful.

Matthew

[IanW99]

I've just done a reconnaisance visit of Chch..so here goes

Best state high schools appear to be Boys High and Girls High, followed by Burnside High. Cashmere High was also recommended. (Other ones that seem to have improved include Papanui and Riccarton High.)

Internediate schools that were mentioned were Cobham.

Primary/junior schools included those in Avonhead area e.g. Westburn (includes intermediate).

One thing that is apparent is that schools are zoned and you're unlikely to get in if you are out of zone. The Boys high and girls high have ballots for extra spaces! So this affects rental prices and house prics too!

Hope that's helpful.

Matthew

For those that don't know you can find out the school zones here (http://www.schoolzones.co.nz/enrolmentzones/)

Ian

[brightonbean]

useful info as ever ian, thanks.