loujiggy

Hi, this is my first post although i have been following the forum for some time!

We are looking at relocating to Wellington in a couple of months time from the UK. We have a 13 year old daughter who is doing really well in all her subjects here in the Uk. We are looking for a really good secondary/high school for her to continue her studies in the Wellington area (possibly Waikanae, Upper/lower hut and Porirua area too) that speacilizes in computing etc..

Can anyone out there give some advice as to which is a very good co-educational government school please in these areas. I have searched the internet but would like to hear from any parents of children or friends of children at these schools.


Many thanks

luvwelly

In Wellington proper, most senior schools are single sex. However Wellington High School is mixed http://www.whs.school.nz/.

Slightly further out on the Khandallah/Johnsonville border, Onslow College is mixed and has a good reputation http://www.onslow.school.nz/home

Neither has a uniform. The single sex schools do have uniforms (be very careful re catchment zones as they are weird and illogical).

If you are willing to go single sex, then centrally Wellington Girls' College is the one regarded as the best although I have never checked the performance stats: http://www.wellington-girls.school.nz/

If you look at the private sector, there are loads more Girls' options but mixed is dire with only St Mark's Church School going up to Y8 only and then the next mixed senior private school being out in Whitby.

I'll let someone else advise you beyond Wellington City.

I knew people who were happy with Onslow. It is decile 10.
Oops forgot Newlands College which is mixed and has a uniform and is decile 9: http://www.newlands.school.nz/

MOSO

We live in Waikanae and I have a child in year 9 at Paraparaumu college.

It is co-ed and has a uniform. There are about 1200 pupils. The kids from Waikanae catch buses there and they go from the beach area as well as the town. I've been impressed with the work done to ensure that as the new kids they have settled in well. Nearly all the teachers are in regular email contact with parents and I feel they know her. They also have vertical activities accross the year groups and individual year 13 buddies. We can also access a parental portal online and sometimes we know her assignment marks before she does There are 8 classes in the year group - 2 extension, 6 mainstream and 2 extra needs. Yes, she does alot of her assignment/work on computers but also a fair amount written which is good as the exams are nearly all hand written. Another friend from expats website has 2 daughters there and they are both happy. They find it different from the all girls' grammar they were at in the UK of course as the curriculum is obviously different but they've settled in well. There is a new Principal there this year and I've been impressed by the way he's taken time to get to know the kids, sitting in classes, chatting to them at lunch and communicating with parents. I've also seen him visiting all the local primary schools too.

You need to check out the options available at each college as different colleges offer different subjects but none are 'specialised' in the way they are in the UK. My daughter does 4 option papers as well as the core subjects (maths, English, Social studies, PE, Health). The other college in the area is Kapiti College which is co-ed with uniform in Raumati Beach. This isn't zoned unlike Paraparaumu College. Some of my daughter's friends go there and they are happy. The decile rating is similar, the kids are similar as is the school and the activities/trips the kids go on. Their particular year group is bigger as it takes kids from Porirua area too but overall they have about 1300 pupils. Kapiti offers slightly different options and English is taught with Social Studies as one subject. They also have digital classes I think. It may be worth emailing the school to find out directly the subjects they offer as their website was incorrect last year when we were looking.

Cost wise the uniform was about $400 and must be brought from the school. We pay $50 per month to cover trips, donation, text books etc. We should have started the payments last year to build up credit so we also paid about $150 at the beginning of the year for course/text books, art pack, home economics ingredients etc. Homework wise she gets 30mins to 60 mins per night, but mostly that's maths and then the rest seem to be assignments often done on powerpoint. The kids also have the option of doing Maths or English homework after school if they want extra help from their teachers.

If you've any further questions let me know.

simonmarkellis

Our Son is at Tawa College, www.tawacol.school.nz

He love's it there and we couldn't be happier with the school ourselves.

loujiggy

Thank you to everyone that has commented or made suggestions, I will check out the schools you have mentioned and go from there