[Andy-Dee]

Hi
We have now planned our recce trip and will be landing in CCh on the 26th March, spending 1 week there and then a week in Welly from the 2nd April (we are sightseeing in between).

Whilst we are generally scouting the area and OH is having interviews etc, I am hoping to visit a couple of schools - can anyone recommend any good ones in these areas. Also any private ones with good reputations.

There's a packet or hula hoops or tin or gravy granuals in it for you......

Thanks
D

[Carol]

primary or secondary?
:)

[Andy-Dee]

Primary our daughter is 6

[firstkings]

Christchurch:

Queenspark School is good (my kiddlies go there)
Ilam is good (They used to go there)
Roydvale looked good (contact before we left the UK, but in the end, we movedinto a different area)

Lots of the primary schools are good. The ones listed above are not necessarily "better" than others - just that I have experience of them.

Cheers
David

[Andy-Dee]

Thanks for that Firstkings - what areas of CCH are they zoned for?
Regards
D

[SharpBlade]

Thorrington school, down Colombo street , is also a great place to learn and grown up! They are rather strict when it comes to zoning (the zone covers part of Cashmere, Somerfield, Beckenham), but it is worth a try. I wish I had gone to that school too, the teachers are so positive and happy, and although the curriculum is not as full on as it is in Ireland, I have no regret at all.
But like Firstkings said, there are other good primary schools around.
Cheers, Laura

[firstkings]

Hello again,

zones can be worked out from...

http://www.schoolzones.co.nz


also some (many?), have the zones on their websites...

they can be found from

http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/

as a general formula

school site is www.schoolname.school.nz

e.g.

www.roydvale.school.nz

(ilam's is down and has been for a while!)

Cheers

David

[Carol]

Some of our staff were sent here to see how amazing their school is:
http://www.fendalton.school.nz/


There are so many in Wellington...... roughly where are you going to live?
City or suburbs?

[Carol]

I'm not big on private schools myself - but the two that spring to mind in Wellington are Chilton St James and Queen Margarets.

[firstkings]

Oh yes, private schools....

I am big on private (public shurely!) schools! (as a big one pays my wages)

Many have good reputations - and are not expensive if paying in pounds sterling!! (probably a half or third the price of the UK...though it does vary!)

Again consult the tki site - search for independent schools.

Cheers

David


If you are interested in demoniational/christian schools there are lots of them in ChCh too.

[Andy-Dee]

We are looking for something with some land but don't want anything too remote. Our commute is currently 45/60 mins in heavy traffic, so anything that betters this is a bargain. From our research so far, we will be looking at Upper and Lower Hutt if we settle in Welly, but are willing to be flexible as currently have no fixed ideas on location.

If we settle in CCh then we are torn between something in a good area like Cashmere and Fendalton, with a lifestyle block in Rangoria. Due to our lack of any sort of support structure in NZ I am realistic about all of us needing to be near a community so that we can integrate and make friends.

As with so many families, I believe if our daughter is happy it will make the transition there easier - hence the need to research school options so that we can get her settled as quickly as possible.

Many thanks for the replies and we will be in CCh and Welly soon so if anyone would like a particular (small) treat bringing over - we would be happy to oblige.

[sizzlingbadger]

In Upper Hutt, Silverstream and Pinehaven are two very good schools, we were looking for a house there before we decided on Featherston. Across the road from there you've also got St Patricks Catholic College for boys, highly sort after apparently in the Wellington area.

If you don't mind an easy hours commute each way on the train then St Teresas in Featherston is great, my eldest goes there :nice1 Also South Featherston school is very up and coming and is now on par with St Teresa's.

[sunnyb]

Hi, has anyone had any experience of the Rudolf Steiner school in Christchurch? If so, how similar is the standard NZ education? My daughter is in Steiner education in the UK and we've found it absolutely brilliant, but we've been led to beleive that schools in NZ are much more about developing the overall child rather than just getting them through exams.

Thanks, B

[Andy-Dee]

There's a Steiner school in Wellington too, don't know anything about them though - what is their philosophy??

[speckythecky]

http://www.anthroposophy.org.nz/Sections/Pedagogical/FRSSNZ.htm

has details of the 10 rudoldh steiner schools in nz

[sunnyb]

There's a Steiner school in Wellington too, don't know anything about them though - what is their philosophy??

Hi, the schools can vary depending on the area (type of parents)! Some are a bit too 'hippy' for us hence the question, but in short, the philosophy is that each child is taught as a whole if that makes sense. Rather than just focusing on teaching them enough to get through exams (earning bonus' for the teachers and school), each child is taught at their own pace and, as much as possible, in their own way. The teaching is based on 'projects' for example my 11 yr old is currently learning about the ancient Greeks - they started with the mythology which sparked the class interest. They wrote and performed a half hour play which they took great pride in and now they're learning the historical facts. They've been doing this 'project' for 2 hrs each day for the past 4 weeks and are completely absorbed. English, maths, history, art, geography etc are all incorporated into the topic so the children aren't even aware they're learning it.

I discovered it late so unfortunately my daughter went through ridiculous exam stress up to the age of 8 before I found there was an alternative.

I'm interested to know whether we need to move near the CCH Steiner school or if most schools have a more overall approach to teaching rather than focusing on getting through exams.

Any views would be greatfully received
Thanks, B

[movefromus]

Here's the website for the Education Review Office. They do reports on all the schools. You can search for a specific school or a specific area (not by city but by each suburb). They give an idea of student performance, information on the student body, etc.

http://www.ero.govt.nz/ero/publishing.nsf/Content/Search

Carly