[Pepi]

:roll Hi there from Johannesburg
My name is Lisa and I have no idea how to use this forum....but giving it a go!
My family and I are moving to Auckland early next year.
We have never been to NZ thus the Leap of Faith!
I have been reading a few of the stories and they have been very interesting.
My only real concern is finding the right area with the right schools to accomodate my 3 kids.
If there is anyone out there wiht some advise please please give me some....
My daughter is going to be 17 in Jan and attends a 'trade' school studying hospitality, travel & tourism, dramatic arts, etc.
Then I have a 14 year old son and a 6 year old son...busy me....:-))
So I am looking for schools that can accomodate all 3 of them in the northern suburbs.
I have read about the suburbs in North Shore City District and they sound gr8.
And coming from Jo'burg it woudl be gr8 to be near the sea....
Thank a mil.
Lisa

[Trigirl]

Hi Lisa

You’ll probably have to wait till the NZers wake up for answers on areas etc – but I thought I’d start with…..

Welcome to the Forum!!!

[Helsandfamily]

Hi Lisa

Welcome to the forum from me too ( Sorry can't answer your questions)

Hels

[Sam'n'Kelv]

Hi Lisa

Welcome. Unfortunately, we're unable to answer your questions since in exactly the same boat as you. We're hoping to settle on the South Island and find good schools and a University place for 4. We're looking forward to the challenge.

[StevieD]

Lisa, welcome to the forum!! Sure you'll get the hang of it pretty soon, it is a really friendly and informative place, a great help.

Steve :cheers

[marcia]

Another useless post here really - no advice except use the search facility it is very useful there is some really good infomation on old threads.

And of course WELCOME! :)

[Kiwi-In-Texas]

Hi there Lisa and welcome to the forum...Maybe you could try researching online for Colleges and School in that area, maybe that would give you some idea of the schools and colleges available in the area you are wanting to live in when you move to New Zealand.

Cheers,
Suzanne and Ron.

[Brad77]

I think you can search for schools on www.tki.org.nz but I cant seem to open it now.

[Caroline and Dave]

Hi Lisa and welcome to the forum.
Get yourself a copy of the book where to live in Auckland. It has some great info including lists of all the schools in each area of Auckland. .You should be able to get it from an online bookstore.
Hope this helps

Dave and Caroline

[Brad77]

hey

this is a link to the schools on the North Shore. Should have websites, so have a look. Some great schools there.

http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/graphical_search.php?gs_region=North_Shore_City

or go to www.tki.org.nz and search schools etc. Very simple to find.

[Tia Maria]

Pepi,

Hi, I live in the lower part of the North Shore and can tell you all the schools are great in the Devonport/Belmont/Takapuna area. (I think they're all suppose to be good further up also, but don't have any personal experience of this).

As my children are younger I mainly know about primary schools, but I found when I went to view the local schools, I would have been happy with all of them and it really came down to feeling one was more right for my son.

What I thought was useful was the fact that you were shown round personally by the head teacher, so you could really get a feel for what they were trying to do with the school.

If you end up moving to this area and want to know more then PM me.

Cheers

Tia

[Pepi]

hey, thanks all for the wonderful response and warm welcome.
yup, I think I'm sort of getting the hang of this.
Will check out the sites.
Wrgds
Lisa

[Bruckner]

Welcome to the forum Lisa!

Emily

[Lisa&Andy]

Hi Lisa,

Just wanted to say 'Hi' and that I am also new to the forum and it took me ages just to post a new message and when I eventually did the first one was in bright pink (quite difficult to read!!) :uhoh. My hubby, 3 yr old and I are also planning to be in NZ (late 2007) probably Auckland but it all depends on job vacancies. We are in Scotland and have just completed our EOI. Lots n Lots of luck with your plans :nice1

Lisa x

[Sue]

Hey Lisa
I have heard that it is best to live in areas with good school ratings - that way your child gets to attend the area in the zone. I know that for girls in Auckland - Epsom girls grammar school is quite well acclaimed. dont have kids of my own so am not too clued up with schools - best to contact schools via email and ask them the questions personally.

Sue
Mt Eden Auckland (ex queensburgh KZN resident)

[andreamatt]

Hi Lisa

Welcome to the forum. We hope to making a leap of faith next year too (have never been to NZ apart from a 4 hour stop-over in Auckland). We hope to be going to Wellington though. I'm sure you'll receive plenty of great advice re. Auckland from the others on this forum.

Best wishes,

Andrea Matt William and Martha

[Hannah]

Hiya and welcome.
worth looking up Massey university on the web and checking out the uni's in NZ. I lived in New Plymouth (mid west coast, N Island) - they had a technology institute (called WITT - stands for Western Institute something or other...have a search on google under WITT and New Plymouth) . Not sure where your eldest would be best suited with those subjects - tech institute or uni so worth a search to get a feel for what the further education institutes offer. I can't comment on Auckland specifically as i've not lived there (it's expensive apparently, in terms of house prices etc).
Just wanted to say welcome to the forum!!!
Hannah

[gil]

Hi Lisa,

We arrived in Auckland (Howick) 2.5 weeks ago with 4 kids. Schools are excellent from primary to college in our zone: ours are at Macleans College, Bucklands Beach Intermediate and Pigeon Mountain Primary and our eldest has applied to Auckland University of Technology. We are not into our rental till Dec 21, when we will have broadband, so please feel free to PM me if you want to. Until 21 Dec, my responses may be infrequent!

Good luck,
Gil