mcuddy1

Well

Been here nearly three years now, when we arrived my son who was seven seemed to be a year ahead. But alas, three years latter he has been dragged down to the NZ standard. Do any other posters feel their kids education is gonna suffer for living in NZ. The future is not rosy for your kids in the long term, they will soon do a sharp exit when they are old enough as there is nothing to keep them here, especially Canterbury.

So all of you prospective immigrants beware, short term gain long term pain.

So much so back to the UK it is.

Along with this, NZ has not lived up to expectations in other departments as well, It's sold as a lifestyle change the only advantage I have is I only work part time. Basically there is nothing to do here. Christchurch can be done in a day, then what? Limited activities and limited access to the countryside.

But I suppose it's what you are accustomed to, just to many downsides to list.

Returning to the kids, when they have flown the nest, are you happy to spend the rest of your life here with your immediate family thousands of miles away?

southerner

I know that happens, but my impression is that most young kiwis do their OEs and ultimately return to NZ, or if not then East Coast Australia. Personally I will look forward to visiting them overseas, and of course cross my fingers they will return in time.

weejie

We got here in July,just as the kids had finished a full year of schooling back home. When we got here we had the thoughts of do we make them repeat 6 months?? and allow them to settle in and not need to worry about the school work or jump ahead 6 months?? and see how they settle. The Principal made the decision to do the former,but we wish he had done the latter. My boys are bored out their heads and know much more than their class mates. I am trying my best to ensure they do not fall away from their present levels and capabilities by encouraging reading,extra maths, research etc but do not want them to be too far ahead so that they are bored in class!!!!AAARRGGHH it is really frustrating. Having said that cannot fault the school or staff in any way,it is the system.

Phyl x

kiwinow

Good points. I'm not so sure that the education is not up to standard, but it is organised differently. Kids are pushed harder earlier in UK. In NZ they are let alone more in those early years and personal difference is recognised (e.g, readiness for reading) although I have to admit that not all schools have an extension programme for the bright ones and this has frustrated me with some of mine. In my kids school they don't get homework apart from reading until Year 4, after that it is often just reading and spelling until Year 6. It could be more interesting, but on the other hand they used to give everyone homework sheets with things on like Get your parent to read you a story each night, go shopping with mum, play a board game 3 times a week and I'm so glad that's over because it felt like making a chore of the ordinary things you do at home. I think in NZ they celebrate more that everyone is not academic but still good at something. However, there is the tall poppy syndrome where you tend to be cut down to size if you stand out.

As for having done ChCh in a day - how? It's not huge but there is a fair amount to do and to revisit - art galleries, antarctic centre, QEII park and pool, Avon punting, loads of restaurants and clubs, and there are some lovely places within a short drive - nice beaches at Sumner and Brighton, ski fields only a short drive away, Akaroa, Kaikoura, transalpine train, West Coast, Hanmer Springs to name a few. I guess it depends what you like to do. But then I live in Timaru and I definitely feel like there isn't much to do sometimes in Timaru.

lapsed kiwi

I guess if you're a person who needs manufactured entertainment given to you on a plate, then you could do ChCh - and many other places in NZ - in a day. On the other hand, if you have some imagination and initiative, there are plenty of things to do, wherever you live. You could take up a sport, learn a musical instrument, join a service club, take up fishing, learn to windsurf on the estuary, help with the local scout group etc etc etc. I think if you're a theme park / shopping mall / wandering around historical places sort of person then NZ has little to offer and you're better off in Europe or America.

lapsed kiwi

As someone who was educated from age 8 in NZ (Canterbury in fact) and then went back to UK for my tertiary education, I'm afraid I can't see where the OP is coming from on education. My experience was that my academic expertise was on a par or better than my fellow students, which is not unsurprising given that we had been using UK A level papers to practice for our 6th and 7th form exams in NZ. I also found I had a better breadth of knowledge, having studied and been examined in at least 5 subjects throughout my secondary schooling, compared to UK students who had generally been restricted to 3 for their A levels. That was in the 80s though and I guess it has changed. I work quite closely with several young NZ graduates though, and they generally seem to be well educated.

Our oldest boy is approaching the end of his first year at school here in NZ and we're impressed so far. He has good reading, writing and spelling skills. Mathematics not quite so good. He also gets involved in other activities as part of school such as athletics, dancing, bible studies, cross-country, singing. In general it seems a good well-rounded education at primary level so far. So I don't think you're writing off your kids by moving to NZ.

mcuddy1

Ok where I am coming from, he is ten and has had no homework really in the three years we have been here.

One decile ten school (Ohoka) and one school in Parklands. He is average in most subjects except maths at which he is very good, but he is going to really struggle when he goes to Secondary school in the UK. Miles behind where I was.

I agree the sports and activities are encouraged more here and that is good but the lack of academic learning here will disadvantage him eventually.

Regarding your dig about no initiative, people like different things I have been to most places once that's about it. You have no idea!! Cycling is crap here Banks Peninsular gets boring and everywhere else is flat and dangerous with all the local hoons. No where to run and I don't agree with hunting and the mentality of killing the wildlife on purpose with their cars. (Duck Killing is a pass time round here)

I can't stand the thought of my kids growing up like these mindless morons that seem to infest the place with their insular attitude.

So don't come having a pop at me with your snide comments.

george toni

Dear oh dear what on earth is it that people coming here want!

I just dont get it. Chch isnt my favourite place in NZ but beats hands down what we had in the UK.

School here for our kids has been great.They got here and were put into the year above the one they should be in and hence with children a year plus older than them. They thrived and still are and are doing really well in all areas.

They get homework every night of some sort as well.Did it ever cross your mind to ask for extra homework rather than just leave it for three years.

Heck back in the UK it was ALL about the bloody SATS and the teachers were driven by that to the detrement of the education.

My eldest two daughters were in the top ten percent at there uk school and guess what they remaind so here and moved from high school to uni .

Why is it always the schools fault?

The children 'leaving' and going back to uk or aussie is a great thing in my book and I will encourage them to have that adventure when the time comes.

You must have lived in a part of the UK that I missed to think that NZ is as bad as you say.I reckon the lack of people here,outside entertainment,great countryside and beaches and on and on more than make up for the stressed overcrowded,, rude full to the brim classes , kids who a 7 tell adults to *** off,no respect,unsafe uk.

Good luck hope when you go HOME its all you want it to be


george

bourbon-biscuit

Yawn.

And yet, as is pointed out quite often by those in the know, NZ does Very Well Indeed in the long run according to PISA. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Program...ent_Assessment and follow the links on there to the project if you want to read more. AFAIK 2009 results are not out yet.

You're taking your cake out the oven half baked and speculating on the finished product

Who says I have to? Who knows what they'll choose, although I would imagine, given the wanderlust we've inspired in them and the fantastic education they're getting, that they'll almost certainly want to live and explore overseas. Good on them

I refer you to the link above and the study that suggests the opposite is true.

bourbon-biscuit

BTW, fwiw, recent research is suggesting 'homework' isn't all it's cracked up to be and many schools make an educated, proactive decision not to give children homework in the light of this knowledge.

lapsed kiwi

"been everywhere once" is eactly the sort of shallow, spoon-fed attitude I was referring to. I was brought up in Canterbury and had a very varied childhood that included sports, music, drama, hunting, sailing, windsurfing, church, etc etc. If you find my honesty snide then tough. Have a nice flight back to UK

mcuddy1

Same old rhetoric same old people, you can quote as many facts as you can dredge up it's my experience. Fact he's gonna be behind and need extra tuition next year.

Yes I would prefer them to go abroad when they are mature unlike 17 & 18 year old kids here.

Well from what I have seen in the higher education establishment I attended here was a woefully substandard High School graduate. Half the class were slow and did not have a basic grasp of Physics or Maths.

Fact, my actual experience not hearsay or contrived stats.

mcuddy1

George or Toni whatever your name is, The Peak District kicks Chch ass for recreation and amenities, Oh and civilized conversation.

mcuddy1

The snide,was referring to your remark (if you have some imagination and initiative) inferring I had none.

Now shallow, spoon fed my my.

Ah brought up in Canterbury!!! explains a lot.

Oh and hunting is pretty backward, you get some sort of thrill killing animals? it's as bad as the fox hunting jerks at home.

Justcol

I would like to add a comment here.
I have two sons anged 15 and 18. In the uk the were considered very
good students by their teachers and attended the local grammer
school where they were both doing very well.
Both had already sat certain GCSE's at 14 and passed with A and B grades.
We arrived in NZ and due to the timing of the school years they both entered
school and re did about half of the year they had left in the uk.
Innitially they both said they were just going over things they had already done
and got quite frustrated.
Like most concerned parents when the following new school year started we
kept a close eye on their progress, the last thing we wanted was for all the hard
work they had done to slip away. It was comforting to hear from both of them that
they were surprised at how things were going, they both said that the work they were
being given was easilly equal to UK standards and they both felt that the work was very
challenging..
The eldest one thought that the different teaching methods used in NZ had
been good for him as it taught him to be more flexible in his out look and it
had given him a confidence boost knowing that he was able to adapt to new
teaching methods and apply his knowledge in different ways.
These he thinks are things that he can take with him when he starts university
and also into the work place when the time comes.
Both my boys attend Cambridge high school which is an ordinary NZ school.
The point i am trying to make is that there are a lot of people who knock the NZ
education system but if you take a serious intrest in your childrens education,
ask questions of both you children and the school then the NZ system is as good as any.
If you moan and complain about it being crap to or in front of you kids they will
also moan and complain and take a negative view of school in general.
I have always believed that as parents it is our job to promote education at
whatever level as a good positive thing.
Kids need to understand that any kind of knowledge is a good thing and that
learning does not end when the school bell rings, its a life skill that so many
parents today do not pass on.