Studying in New Zealand Comprehensive Analysis of High School Education

Why choose New Zealand

Before going abroad, many friends asked me why I chose New Zealand. But the life experience accumulated over the past few years tells me that New Zealand is a good place to study. Due to the special age of high school, most students start studying when they are between 15 and 18 years old. People in this age group will undergo huge changes in their outlook on life, values, and psychology and physiology. Strong ability to accept new things, strong adaptability, and relatively fast learning speed are the characteristics of this age group. But it is also particularly vulnerable to negative influences.

It is the dream of parents to send their children abroad at an appropriate age to receive higher education abroad. In my experience, children can be sent out after they finish junior high school in China. The reasons are as follows: The foundation of basic education and junior high school education in China is the basis for continued study abroad, and will reduce part of the academic burden, allowing students to focus more on English learning in their future studies. Parents will feel more at ease if the students are of appropriate age and have certain independent abilities. As mentioned above, students at this stage have strong adaptability and their ability to accept language is relatively faster than adults. The English and subject knowledge learned in high school in New Zealand will lay a solid foundation for further study in New Zealand or other countries where English is the first language. The experience of studying abroad and the things learned in daily life can benefit students throughout their lives. And it is also a very valuable life experience in life.

New Zealand is now a country that is completely open to international students. Its advantages are as follows:

1. New Zealanders are friendly, enthusiastic, and love traveling and understanding other cultures. New Zealanders are also known for their enthusiasm for friends abroad.

2. International students will receive high-quality education and living environment in New Zealand.

3. New Zealand is a country where English is the mother tongue. International students will have a good language environment to learn English in New Zealand.

4. New Zealand’s high school and university education provide an excellent academic environment. Various universities also offer a wide range of academic areas for you to study.

5. New Zealand is a long-term democratic country, which provides everyone with a safe and stable social environment.

6. A variety of entertainment and cultural experiences are the reasons why New Zealand is famous for its beautiful natural scenery.

7. The cost of living and studying is lower than other countries.

8. There are direct flights and buses between major cities. Transportation between cities is very convenient.

9. New Zealand has a pleasant climate, which is very conducive to study, tourism and life.

10. New Zealand is a country with many immigrants, with ethnic groups from all over the world living a friendly life.

In New Zealand, students generally enter secondary school from the age of 13. The secondary school is responsible for education from Form 3 to Form 7. Form is the classification method of the old education system. Now it is replaced by Year 9-Year 13, but in most names, Form is still used most. Let’s compare New Zealand’s secondary education system with China’s:

Chinese junior high school grade 2 = New Zealand secondary school (Year 9) Form 3 students are about 13 years old

Chinese junior high school grade 3 = New Zealand secondary school (Year 10) Form 4 students are about 14 years old

Chinese high school grade 1 = New Zealand secondary school (Year 11) Form 5 students are about 15 years old

Chinese high school grade 2 = New Zealand secondary school (Year 12) Form 6 students are about 16 years old

Year 1 of Chinese University = New Zealand secondary school (Year 13) Form 7 or Foundation (Foundation) students are about 17-18 years old

When New Zealand middle schools From 5, students will take the School Certificate, which is the secondary school diploma examination. This examination will be replaced by NECA (National Educational Certificate Achievement) starting in 2002.

At From 6, students will also take the Six From Certificate exam. If you want to continue studying at a university, you must pass the University Bursary or Scholarship from 7. (Note: If the results are excellent, students can be recommended by the school to directly enter the university in From 6). The specific information about the exam will be introduced in detail in subsequent chapters.

There are approximately more than 440 secondary schools in New Zealand, generally called: High school, Grammar school, and College.

There are three types of schools:

< p>　1. State---This kind of school is a public school, owned and funded by the New Zealand government or the public. and administered by the New Zealand Ministry of Education. Most schools in New Zealand are public.

2． Integrated--These schools used to be private schools and were later merged with government schools, but at the same time they retained some of their own religious traditions. In a strict sense, integrated schools are equivalent to public schools.

3． Private? Private schools are independent from other schools. Most of these schools have excellent teaching quality and facilities, and their management is relatively strict. But you also need to pay high tuition fees for this.

Based on the student structure, schools can also be divided into boys’ schools, girls’ schools and co-ed schools. Separate schools for boys and girls are one of the school traditions in Commonwealth countries, and such schools usually have better academic results. However, some single-sex schools also admit a small number of students of other genders in the upper grades. Regarding the composition of teachers, boys' schools prefer and use male teachers, while girls' schools prefer to use female teachers, but they also maintain a certain number of teachers of the opposite sex. There are no restrictions on coeducational schools. Approximately 25% of students in New Zealand attend single-sex schools. Generally, the size of a school is around 500-1,000 students, and a school with 1,000 students is considered a relatively large school.

Some schools have religious beliefs. While teaching, they also focus on cultivating students' religious beliefs. For example, general Catholic schools will require the Bible and hymns to be recited during lunch breaks.

Some schools provide student dormitories (Hostel) for students to facilitate students in remote areas to study. Most single-sex schools will provide dormitories. International students can also apply to live in the dormitory, but the fee is not included in the tuition and needs to be paid separately.

School Uniforms

Most students are required to wear school uniforms while attending secondary school, although students in 6th or 7th grade are sometimes allowed to wear casual clothes. Some schools do not have uniforms, but students must wear acceptable clothing. Uniforms cost around NZ$400 in public schools and up to NZ$1,000 in private schools.

Generally speaking, single-sex schools and private schools have stricter uniform requirements. Some schools even require uniforms for FORM 7.

School Choice

Choosing a school is a very difficult decision. Because many friends in China do not understand the local situation in New Zealand at all, choosing a school that is responsible for you may be a key issue. Here, I just want to give you some guidance, because the New Zealand government does not allow you to deliberately rank high schools. Whether a school is good or not depends on many factors. A few suggestions. Generally, schools located in big cities may have better facilities and be more convenient. The overall conditions of private schools should be good, but the tuition fees are expensive.

Scholarships refer to students with scores in the top three percent of the country. There is a one-time reward of NZD 500 for each subject. Only candidates who choose more than 5 subjects are eligible to receive it.

School system:

The success of a school lies in its management. New Zealand's student management system is very different from that of Chinese high schools. First, let’s look at the school’s semester system. New Zealand's secondary schools are divided into four semesters.

There is a 2-week holiday between each semester, and there is a summer vacation between the fourth semester and the first semester. I have nearly two months of vacation. Private school dates may vary, but are generally similar.

Work and rest system:

The school requires students to report to school at 8:40 every morning. After being called by the teacher, classes will start at 9:00. After students enter the school, they will be assigned to a designated classroom. This is the roll call classroom where you will go every morning. There are many names for this roll call place. We call it tutor group. In the roll call classroom, the teacher will roll call and record late arrivals. Absences and inventory of previously absent persons. Normally you will stay in the same roll call classroom until you leave secondary school. So the roll call teacher is your daily life teacher, or according to domestic parlance, it can also be called "homeroom teacher". The only difference is that the teachers here will never make irresponsible remarks about your grades. In the roll call classroom, the teacher will read out the school schedule notice every day. There are activities and various clubs in the school, and the meeting or training times of the sports teams are stated in the daily notice.

The school will hold assemblies at regular intervals, requiring all or lower and upper grades to participate. Assemblies usually consist of school leaders giving lectures, announcing awards and various activities.

Generally, schools have 6 classes a day, each class is 45 minutes long. 4 sessions in the morning and 2 sessions in the afternoon. There is a 30-minute break after the first and second classes. There is about half an hour of lunch time after March or Fourth Festival. There is no rest in the afternoon. After school, school is over. School usually ends between 3:15-3:30 pm. Some schools have five classes a day, three in the morning and two in the afternoon, with each class lasting one hour. The work and rest times are the same.

At the beginning of each class, the teacher will call the roll again. Because students' class schedule is determined by the courses they choose, and the classrooms for each subject are different, there are no fixed classrooms like in China. In this way, your behavior is completely free, and even the truant teacher will not notice it. In order to prevent this from happening, teachers in each subject will call on you once to check whether you are in school all day. Otherwise, it will be recorded as truancy.

If you are late and miss the morning roll call class, you must go to the management office to sign in. Otherwise, your roll call teacher will mark you as absent and send it to the teacher for each class. If the class teacher sees you, he will mark you as having arrived. Otherwise, your absence will be recorded. If you are late, the teacher will write down the L mark for you. If you are late too much, you will be given a warning. In serious cases, you will be left behind to clean up after school. If you are unable to go to school due to illness or other reasonable reasons, your parents should call the school to ask for leave. And write a request for leave and bring it to the roll call teacher when the student goes to school. Excessive absences without reasonable explanation may result in expulsion.

Administrative management:

The school’s administrative management is also very effective, with dedicated personnel managing almost everything. From recording tardiness and absenteeism to managing huge cleaning areas, the division of labor in all aspects of the school is very detailed.

There are many teachers in school who you can seek guidance and help from.

1. Name the teacher: They are your life teachers. If you have any questions, please go to them.

2. Subject teachers: They will answer your learning questions.

3. Grade Director: Responsible for your annual study review and personal style issues.

4. Career Guidance Director: Responsible for transferring schools, exchanging students and providing information on next-step educational institutions.

5. Student adjustment teacher: guide and advise you on things in study and life. If you have any troubles, they are the right people for you to talk to!

Generally speaking, the people you interact with most often are your roll call teacher and grade director. If you need to change courses, leave school, etc., you need their consent. They also manage the checking and rectification of tardiness and truancy. If your grades are really bad or you get into any trouble at school, you have to go to the Head of Year's office. But they are also very happy to help you.

Because international students are a special group, schools usually have dedicated personnel to manage international students. They are called DEAN OF INTERNATIONAL STUDNENTS, and they will manage almost all your problems, such as finding a homestay, paying tuition, arranging for course changes, etc. Any problems and troubles you have in school and life will also be managed by them.

Students need to abide by certain rules and regulations in school.

The following behaviors are absolutely prohibited in school: stealing, truancy, violent fighting, smoking, drinking, drug abuse, and intentional destruction of public property. and disobeying the teacher’s correct commands.

You should also pay attention to your belongings and lock your bicycle while studying. The school has a dedicated bicycle parking garage, which is locked during school hours. The mobile phone is required to be turned off or silent. Please carry important items with you as items may be lost in school from time to time.

There are several punishments for students who break the rules. The mildest one is DETENSION, which means they are left to clean for a certain period of time after school or during lunch time. Next, you will be sent to the grade director to be lectured and warned. Depending on the severity of the situation, the grade director may send you home directly or invite your parents to the school. Even more serious is the DAILY REPORT. If a student skips too many classes or is too naughty in class, the school will give a warning and then require the student to bring the DAILY REPORT to the teacher of each class to sign and write class performance comments every day. If after the DAILY REPORT No matter how bad your performance is during the period, you may be fired. The most serious ones are a serious warning and expulsion. Each school will have a BOARDER TRUST (school board) composed of school teachers, senior leaders, community representatives and police. The principal does not have the final say in expelling a student. He must discuss and approve the decision at a BOARDER TRUST meeting before expelling a student. It should also be mentioned here that traditional British schools have the position of PREFECT (prefect). Prefects are student representatives elected by students and teachers among the 7th grade students. They are responsible for managing some student issues, discussing various suggestions and solutions, and organizing various large-scale school activities. In addition to teachers, they also have the right to DETENSION any student who violates the rules.

Examination settings

Students will have unit quizzes in normal times, and teachers will personally supervise the exams in the class. If there are multiple classes for a subject, the teacher will unify the quizzes on the same day to avoid missing questions. Midway through the second semester, students are required to take a midterm exam. The exams are spread out over a week, with two subjects being tested every day, each taking 2 hours. The test is from 9 to 11 in the morning and from 1 to 3 in the afternoon. If you don't have a test on a particular day, you don't have to go to school. At the end of the fourth semester, there will be an annual final exam, which covers the entire year's study content. The schedule is roughly the same as the midterm exam, but the exam time is increased to 3 hours. BURSARY and other national unified examinations will be held in designated school examination rooms. The above final exam is not a BURSARY exam. There is an additional BURSARY exam with the same time schedule as the final exam. The examination time is roughly in early December, and the time is uniformly stipulated by the state.

School life

High school life in New Zealand is not boring and meaningless studying all day like in China. In addition to studies, high schools here attach great importance to sports activities and students' interest development. At school you can join a variety of sports teams. The following takes Hamilton Boys High School as an example. The sports teams in the school include: football, basketball, rugby, badminton, table tennis, volleyball, cricket, hockey, golf, rowing, track and field, long-distance running, ski team, etc. After each first semester, each sports team will recruit new players to join. Some traditional main teams, such as rugby teams and cricket teams, are divided into first team and second team, or teams are divided into UNDER16 and UNDER19 according to age. If you want to enter the main team, you need to pass a strict selection examination. If you just want to have fun, each team will have a SOCIAL team that organizes friendly matches and anyone can participate. After joining a sports team, you need to participate in required training. The training time will be notified on the notice board, sometimes in the morning before class. It is usually arranged after school. Repeated absences from training without excuse will result in expulsion from the team and disqualification from the competition. Each sports team is guided by a teacher-coach. Don't underestimate the school's sports teams. Almost all teams have their own official competitions. No matter from the venue, equipment, or student attitude, you can feel the existence of "professional sportsmanship". There are inter-school leagues, national championships, and even exchange competitions overseas. Winning good rankings in major competitions is a great honor. The more awards you get, the greater the school’s reputation.

Therefore, both student-athletes and schools invest a lot of energy and go all out for all competitions. The school holds water sports and field sports meets in the first two semesters every year. Sports meetings are mostly held in gymnasiums and other places, and there are group competitions within the school. HAMILTON BOYS HIGH SCHOOL is a very traditional British school. The school is divided into several HOUSEs, also known as "colleges". Each college has its own special logo and consists of a number of roll call classrooms. Colleges compete with each other in sports competitions to be crowned annual house champions. This academy-style competition is fully explained in the movie Harry Potter. In short, competition between colleges brings more fun to sports meets.

If you are not interested in sports activities, there are other cultural activity groups on campus that you can join. You can join the debate team, school band, etc. Famous school bands also have the opportunity to be invited to perform overseas. Even if you study general subjects, each subject has its own FIELD DAY/TRIP. There is a special day in the school year for you to choose your subjects. You will be taken to places related to your studies for practical inspections. For example, the economic FIELD DAY will take you to visit New Zealand's largest agricultural products trade fair, and the biological FIELD DAY will take you to inspect a species of organism in the forest or at the lake and seaside. . Students who study foreign languages ??(German, French, Japanese, Latin) may have the opportunity to go on a one-week study tour to a country where the language they are learning is their native language. Students need to write a FIELD DAY report and submit it as an ASSESSMENT.

The school holds many travel activities from time to time. School group travel is relatively cheap and has more fun with classmates. Travel as far away as overseas and as close as various cities in China. Fees vary.

There are a few days in each semester that you are allowed to wear plain clothes, but this is for a fee and is to raise funds for school clubs and other activities. The daily fee for plain clothes is between one yuan and two yuan. Of course, you can also wear school uniform so you don't have to pay the fee.

In single-sex schools, the school also holds joint dances with other single-sex schools every semester. For example, boys' schools unite with other girls' schools. The purpose of the Lien Yik Dance is to raise funds for school clubs and also to give students in single-sex schools the opportunity to meet more friends of the opposite sex. Lien Yik Dance is usually held in the school hall HALL and is supervised by teachers. The music is mostly intense electronic synthesized dance music, and the clothes are very casual. The dance starts at 7pm and ends at 10pm. Tickets are only sold to students attending the school and cost $15 NZD.

The annual graduation ball (SENIOR BALL) is the most popular among students. This prom is different from the general Lianyi Prom. The graduation prom can only be attended by the 7th graders or in some schools, the 6th graders can also participate. You need to invite a dance partner to the dance, but you can also go alone, but the ticket prices are different. The scale of this kind of dance is relatively large, so the dress requirements are more formal. Boys need to wear suits, and girls need to wear evening gowns. Since it is more expensive to buy a dress, most of the clothes are rented, and the cost is between 60-100 ZND. The high school graduation prom is a once-in-a-lifetime valuable experience, so everyone is more positive and naturally spends as much as they should on dressing up. Dances are generally held in the saloon halls of large hotels, and each dance has its own unique theme. Therefore, the scenes and other decorations will be decorated according to the theme of the ball. Your clothing should also try to match the theme. The music of the dance is mainly electronic synthesis, but there will be band performances, and there will also be some ballroom dance music with slow melodies. The ticket price for two people is around NZD 60, and for a single person it is around NZD 40.

Since the 7th grade is the graduation year, the school’s graduation dance is usually held at the end of the third semester, so as not to delay the review and pre-examination time in the fourth semester. In fact, graduation prom also has its own special meaning in New Zealand. Most students in Grade 7 are between 17 and 18 years old. Graduation from high school also represents the end of an important learning stage in life. It also means that students bid farewell to their teenage years and enter adulthood. This can be considered a coming-of-age ceremony in New Zealand.

All student activities are organized by the students themselves. There is a student council for the 7th grade seniors in the school. Any suggestions that students have can be discussed and approved by them before implementation. They are responsible for the organization of various activities, such as the management of gatherings, arrangements for social dances, and graduation dances.

From the arrangement and decoration of the dance to the printing and promotion of tickets, it is all done by the students themselves. The teacher never intervenes and only gives financial guidance. This can be seen in the cultivation of students' independent leadership abilities.

Even during class, the teacher is very casual. Most teachers let students sit wherever they like. If you feel comfortable, you can lie down on the floor, as long as it doesn't affect the lecture. During class, the teacher only teaches. As long as you don't interfere with him, whatever you do has nothing to do with him. Classroom speeches and discussions are also very casual. Some teachers even mingle with students during class, discussing yesterday's football game, TV series plots, telling jokes or stories, etc. Everything feels very relaxed and comfortable, without any feeling of depression. The existence form of a teacher may be more like a friend. There are also many domestic and international competitions in the subject, such as the famous Olympian Mathematical Competition in New Zealand.

School teaching facilities and methods may vary from school to school. However, various equipment and methods are used in teaching to give students a deeper understanding. Projectors, slide projectors, TV documentaries, computers and other tools are very commonly used in teaching. Some students even wrote their economic reports in the form of POWERPOINT and FLASH animations. As a result, the teacher gave them high marks and commented: WELL DONE. The school's infrastructure is very complete. Generally, schools have libraries, auditoriums, indoor basketball halls, and large outdoor sports fields. Qualified schools also have swimming pools, tennis courts, gyms, etc. Various facilities are open to students free of charge during designated times.

New Zealand’s high school education focuses on cultivating students’ abilities in all aspects and encouraging them to develop their talents. The school also attaches great importance to cultivating students' self-hands-on and leadership skills. Chinese students are not strong in terms of hands-on ability, but in New Zealand, teachers will specifically require students to have certain hands-on experimental investigation abilities. For example, physics experiments. After the teacher explains the purpose of the experiment, he or she needs to set up all the equipment, record data, draw pictures and complete a complete experimental report. Unlike in China, students will not be given a nearly filled-in experimental report to record data. The ASSESSMENT of each subject requires students to conduct independent investigations and write reports. This requires certain investigative skills, such as using libraries, talking to relevant people, and searching for relevant information online. The ability to conduct independent investigations is developed early on. The school gives many rewards to students with excellent academic performance, making students feel that their achievements are recognized. Teachers will encourage students who are not interested in learning. There is no coercion and no harmful language. Students gain respect in the school and their talents can be brought into play. Teachers also always instill in students the concept of learning for themselves, and it is your own fault if you do not study seriously. Teachers leave after class, and no one will come back to ask about your homework and grades. If the homework is not handed in, or is not handed in on time, it doesn't matter. Everything will be done according to the regulations. The deducted points should be treated as zero points. The teacher will never be lenient. They won’t talk to you or ask you for anything all day long. The principle of deducting points if you don’t hand it in seems to work very well. ?Anyway, it’s not me who ends up taking the university entrance examination. ?A teacher said this to his classmates.