Education

New Zealand has a superb reputation around the world as a leading provider of quality education.

Education is offered free to all New Zealanders from age 5 through to age 17. The education philosophy is based on the British tradition and offers a mixture of private and public schools, similar to that found in Great Britain.

Over 95% of school leavers have attended a secondary school and 97% a primary school reflecting a high quality education system.

New Zealand high schools (or secondary schools) provide a broad education for students, generally aged from 13 to 18 years. Most schools are established and funded by the New Zealand Government but there are a number of schools with a special focus, such as religion. All schools prepare students for state certificates and are subject to quality assurance standards.

High school students work towards a qualification called the National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) at three levels. Students have a choice of traditional and non-traditional courses and subjects.

During the final year of study (usually at age 17 or 18), students may work towards gaining NCEA Level 3 to gain acceptance into University.

The New Zealand school year runs from late January to early December with four terms per year.

New Zealand universities have a similar tradition to the British university system. New Zealand’s eight state-funded universities have a highly regarded reputation for academic and research excellence.

New Zealand universities offer a broad range of subjects in Arts, Commerce and Science. Each university has developed its own specialist areas including medicine, engineering, agriculture, computer science and environmental studies.

Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees are offered by all New Zealand Universities. A range of undergraduate and postgraduate diplomas is also available, along with honors programmes (usually requiring an additional year of study).