# secondary schooling



## ninjacat1 (Oct 24, 2010)

hi, can anyone help? we are hopefully moving to nz next sept when my daughter has finished her GCSEs. How will she go on re doing A levels as the NCEA incorporates GCSE and A levels over 3 years?

What year/ grade would she enter nz school?


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## jenswaters (Jul 8, 2009)

ninjacat1 said:


> hi, can anyone help? we are hopefully moving to nz next sept when my daughter has finished her GCSEs. How will she go on re doing A levels as the NCEA incorporates GCSE and A levels over 3 years?
> 
> What year/ grade would she enter nz school?


There are quite a few posts on here regarding the "inbetween" of GCSE and A/AS levels.

Where are you moving to? Some people choose to send their children to school that offers GCSE and A/AS levels, such as colleges in Auckland and Chrsitchurch. However, if you are moving anywhere else, this really isn't an option! But again, if returning to the UK for further education isn't an option then you may as well be doing NCEA. It really depends on your family and circumstances.

The other problem is that the end of the academic year can leave a gap in education. Most people choose to leave their children with them at home until the start of the next academic year (February) but this can cause issues with settling and boredom (imagine a bored stroppy teenager hanging around for 5 months)!! If you can get out a little earlier than September, some schools would encourage your daughter to enter into Y11 (level 1 NCEA) to find her feet and settle in. The downside is this can put a lot of pressure on for the required collection of credits to move up to Y12. But again, some schools will give credits for the GCSE's completed. 

The only honest thing I can say is contact the schools in the area BEFORE you come out. Every school is different, and they treat every student that way too. Check through the various threads on here to read about how different people have tackled the issue.

Good luck

Jen


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## ninjacat1 (Oct 24, 2010)

thanks for your reply, we are hoping to move to the hamilton area, or any where in the waikato region where I can get employment, do you know of any schools that may cater for my daughter?


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## flamester (Aug 14, 2010)

I'm in the same position, as in I'll be coming over to NZ in September and my daughter will have just completed Year 11 in the UK. 

When I visited schools in NZ I was told by various school Principals that they would give my daughter credit for her iGCSEs (she has done these rather than GCSEs in the UK); even one Principal who had never heard of them said he'd look into it and make sure she got the credit she deserved. 

Personally I want my daughter to choose her school - she already knows what subjects she wants to do in Year 12 & 13, which will lead nicely on to what she wants to study at Uni. We've spent hours online looking at various school curriculums, plus done lots of searches on this site and others to get the 'on the ground' opinion. 

If you do a google search....'list of schools in xxx' it generally brings up the wikipedia page you're looking for. In your case this is:

***sorry, wasn't able to paste the link as I haven't posted enough on this forum!***

This list is useful in not only identifying schools in that area, but deciles, state or private etc - so you have an idea of school fees. From here we looked at individual school websites and are now in the process of emailing these schools for further information. 

We're looking at Auckland so our research won't be of much use to you, otherwise you'd be welcome to it! 

Hope this helps


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## flamester (Aug 14, 2010)

Apparently if I make at least 4 posts I can give you the link...so here's post number 4


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## flamester (Aug 14, 2010)

Uh oh....now the error message has changed....rather than telling me I need at least 4 posts it now says I'm not an active member....

Sorry I did try!


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## ninjacat1 (Oct 24, 2010)

*secondary educ*



flamester said:


> I'm in the same position, as in I'll be coming over to NZ in September and my daughter will have just completed Year 11 in the UK.
> 
> When I visited schools in NZ I was told by various school Principals that they would give my daughter credit for her iGCSEs (she has done these rather than GCSEs in the UK); even one Principal who had never heard of them said he'd look into it and make sure she got the credit she deserved.
> 
> ...


Hi thanks for your reply, yes it helps. It is nice to know that they will be given credit for the GCSEs. We are hoping to move to Hamilton area. Keep in touch, will be nice to know how we all get on. Maybe even meet up in NZ as expats.


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## flamester (Aug 14, 2010)

ninjacat1 said:


> Maybe even meet up in NZ as expats.


Meeting up is a great idea 

I've read on another thread that your daughter isn't too keen on staying in NZ...has she ever been there before? My daughter is the opposite - can't wait to get there but I do believe that's because we spent nearly 2 months there so she's a good idea of where she's going and what the culture is like. In a very short time (and we were 'only' tourists at the time) she made friends and was even offered a job..... 
So I wouldn't worry too much about your daughter - the whole move is scary for everybody involved but once she's settled returning to the UK will be the scary prospect!

Finally I can post the link for you:
List of schools in the Waikato Region - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Have a good look at the school deciles, state/private and check out the ERO reports (like OFSTED). 

Hope this helps


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## ninjacat1 (Oct 24, 2010)

*nz education.*



flamester said:


> Meeting up is a great idea
> 
> I've read on another thread that your daughter isn't too keen on staying in NZ...has she ever been there before? My daughter is the opposite - can't wait to get there but I do believe that's because we spent nearly 2 months there so she's a good idea of where she's going and what the culture is like. In a very short time (and we were 'only' tourists at the time) she made friends and was even offered a job.....
> So I wouldn't worry too much about your daughter - the whole move is scary for everybody involved but once she's settled returning to the UK will be the scary prospect!
> ...


Hi, Thats great thanks. Have checked out the schools found the site you have sent me. What are these deciles? do you know?
No we haven'tbeen to NZ yet. My daughter is being a typical Kevin & Perry!


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## flamester (Aug 14, 2010)

The deciles range from 1 to 10 and identify the local socio economic area. Decile 1 is low on the scale and 10 is an affluent area. 

This is important for many reasons. Firstly you need to find the right 'fit' for your family, e.g. what type of area would you be happy living in? Secondly the higher decile schools tend to (but not always) push their students more academically. 
However the higher the decile the more the school financial contribution will be, i.e. what you will have to pay (yes, I am talking about State not Private schools!).

Do check out the ERO reports though. I have found a couple of anomalies where low decile schools have very high NCEA pass rates. Remember the deciles aren't about the wealth of the school, merely the wealth of the local area. 

Some areas are tightly zoned around the school, so you need to be living in the right area for the school in order to get a place. I'm not sure how true this is for 6th form students though (like our daughters will be), so I've emailed some schools we're interested in and asked their advice (I'm hoping it's like in the UK where sixth form is open to anyone whether you live in catchment or not). Anyhow, this site lists all the zones and might be of some use:
Ministry of Education - School Enrolment Zones


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## topcat83 (Apr 16, 2009)

flamester said:


> ....However the higher the decile the more the school financial contribution will be, i.e. what you will have to pay (yes, I am talking about State not Private schools!).


....actually, it's classed as a 'donation' - but try not paying it....


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## Darla.R (Mar 27, 2011)

I know! the kids can really cop-it if you don't and you'll get begging letters from the school for ever more. One good thing is that you can claim it back on your tax return but that's little comfort when you've got three or four kids to pay for.

I didn't pay it out of principle. Education is supposed to be free in NZ, not provided on an ability to pay basis. If I wanted that option I would've sent my kids to a Catholic school.


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## YoungsSpecialLondon (Sep 30, 2008)

Hamilton state and state-integrated schools rank by reputation as follows:-

(girls' and co-eds listed only)

1. Waikato Diocesan School for Girls (Anglican)
2. Sacred Heart Girls' College (Roman Catholic)
3. Hillcrest High Schol
4. Hamilton Girls' High School
5. Hamilton's Fraser High Schol
6. Fairfield College
7. Melville High School

There's also St Paul's Collegiate if you've got plenty of $$$$$$$

Fairfield and Melville are considered train-smashes of schools. The top three are considered good by NZ standards.


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