For about one hundred years ( 1840-1947) New Zealand Was a brittish colony but the first settlers arrived for about a thousand years ago. Therefore the New Zealand school system looks almost identical to the brittish system. It has though developed a bit differenses since their independence 1947.
The stages in the New Zealand school system:.
Childhood education: (age 3-5/6).
Primary school: (age 5/6-7/8) school year:1.
Intermediate: school year 7/8-9.
Secondary:School year 9-13 (age17).
University/Tertiary(optional).
Most New Zealand children start at the so called "childhood education" at the age of 3 wich is not compulsory, simular to the swedish system. Just like Sweden there are different kinds of childhood education like Kindergartens, Childcare centres, Play centres, Family day care, The kohanga reo,pacific islands early childhood centres and playgroups. .
At the age of 5 the "primary school" beggins. The primary school is compulsory from the age of 6 and some children start school then instead. There are about 30 students in every class.
They start school at about 9:00 am and and finish at 3:00 pm already at this stage.
Intermediate school usually starts at school year 7. The only real difference is that they most children change school, however in some rural areas they combine primary, intermediate and secondary school.
The secondary school starts at school year 9 and ends at year 13. The students are still grouped into classes but have different teachers in each subject. They also get to chose what subjects they wish to study more than the core areas in the curriculum. The school day is also extended with half an hour. This is the last step in the school wich is compulsory.
After Secondary school the students can chose to either try to find a job or go to tertiary school. The Tertiary school includes universitys, colleges and polytechnics.
Tertiary education.
Universitys:.
New Zealand Universitys are located in the bigger citys.
