Education in NZ

Most children in NZ will attend some form of preschool education commonly known as Early Childhood Education (ECE) however, it is not compulsory. All ECE services and Kōhanga Reo (Maori Language) preschools are licensed or certificated by the Ministry of Education. This means that they must meet minimum standards of education and care to operate.

The government subsidises ECE and Kōhanga Reo for children 3 – 5 years of age to a maximum of 20 hours. This is dependent on the particular centre, the hours your child attends and the facilities and services offered.  Government Education website for parents

Early Childhood Services are available to the children of staff and students at UC from three Childhood Learning Centres; Early Childhood Learning Centre, Montana Early Learning Centre and Ilam Early Learning Centre. 

Children must be enrolled in school by the time they are 6 years old, however most children in NZ start school on their 5th birthday. Primary school covers years 1 to 8 if it is a ‘full’ primary school or years 1 to 6 if it is a ‘contributing’ primary school. For a contributing primary, years 7 and 8 are then at an Intermediate (middle) School.

The local Primary School to the University is Ilam School

At high school, your child is taught under the guide of the National Curriculum. In years, 11 – 13 the subjects your child studies will be assessed by unit standards or NCEA credits.

NCEA, National Certificate of Educational Achievement, is the main secondary school qualification for students gained at three levels. Level 1 in year 11; Level 2 in year 12 and Level 3 in year 13. Credits are achieved via a mixture of internal and external assessments.

For more information on NZ schools visit:

• Government Education for Parents website
• Browse all Education topics in NZ Government website
• NZ Immigration - The School System