High School in Auckland West

[Maggi]

Hi,

My children and I are moving to Auckland on 1 Dec and we are considering places for rental. My OH is currently in the eastern part and we know there are good schools like Macleans but we understanding the house there can be a lot more expensive. We are looking into the option of renting a house in the western part, which may lightly lead to buying a house there later on. My worry is whether there are good high schools in the area, can anyone share some light? I am not very clear about the Decile rating, does a low decile means an academically lower ranking school?

[JandM]

I am not very clear about the Decile rating, does a low decile means an academically lower ranking school?

No, not at all. The mechanism for deciding is described here http://www.kiwifamilies.co.nz/Topics...w/Deciles.html, and as they say in the link, it's done to sort out where funding will be most needed.

[fury147]

Don't rush - school finishes in December for the year

[Kenzie]

Deciles are all about the socio-economic background of the area surrounding the school (where most of the kids come from). It doesn't necessarily tell you anything about the quality of the education. You can draw some possible conclusions though - a decile 1 school might have 'tougher' kids; but then again they might have teachers with better behaviour management skills.

You're right - housing in the eastern suburbs is much higher than out west, and house prices in the area surrounding a 'good' school will be significantly higher because of the competition to get into that school.

The best way to find out about a school is to look at their ERO report - this will tell you quite a bit about what ERO found during their last inspection.

If I'm honest I'm struggling to think of any REALLY good state secondary schools out West, but there are some that are on the good side of average

[Maggi]

Thanks for the info. My OH has surveyed and found good housing area (Anderson?) but it is a bit far from the school. In the end, he still prefers the east esp or the north. Just keep fingers close we can find the rental before Dec. We plan to rent for 6 to 12 months before buying. How soon should we start looking for houses? Can someone recommend some good agents in this?

[Millieandme]

How soon should we start looking for houses? Can someone recommend some good agents in this?

I don't know how it works in Malaysia, but if you are looking for an agent to help you find a house to buy, you won't be able to find one. As have been discussed in other threads, the real estate industry in New Zealand is organized for sellers, not buyers. Agents work for sellers only and will show you the houses they are listing but not any other homes.

How soon should we start looking for houses?

You can start looking for houses online right away. That will give you some idea of what is out there. The listings online usually don't have prices which makes it harder but that is the way it is. The only way to get a price indication for most properties is to go the city web site and look up the property valuation.

[batgirl1001]

Yes there are agents only for sellers not buyers here in NZ unless you happen to be someone of high net worth.

For West Auckland, most people do struggle with finding a good school to recommend and unless you talk about private schools (decile 9-10), most schools in the west are within the 4-7 range.

Decile doesn't tell you everything about the school of course as I am sure good schools come in all deciles but it does seem to affect the parents' choice especially and I guess with migrants, most are reluctant to try out or find out about a lower or mid-decile school nor do they have the time to do so especially being just arrived in NZ. Most will use the decile as an indicator before reading ERO reports.

However there are good schools with mediocre deciles like Mt Roskill for example which has a 50% Asian student population (hence I guess very competitive academic enviroment) while being decile 4 or 5 is consistently outperforming very good decile schools like Mt Albert (8). Metro ranks it as one of the best schools in Auckland in the likes of grammar schools.

In the east, where we stayed for a short while at Bucklands Beach zoned, Macleans would be the most sought-after. Howick and Pakuranga are very good as well but viewed with less prestige.

[Maggi]

Thanks batgirl1001
Which part of Auckland is Mt Roskill located? I have checked with the Internet but not sure if it is Mt Roskill Grammar school. Is it a state school? I will surely ask my OH to check it out. My twin girls will be in year 12 and my boy in year 10 next year.

[batgirl1001]

Yes it is a grammar school in Auckland city within Mt Roskill and it is zoned. I was just using it as an illustration that deciles don't mean everything.

However a lot of people do rely on it to began their search for a suitable school.