North Shore Schools???

[louloumama3]

Hi there

Moving to North Shore area (poss Long Bay/Torbay/Browns Bay) and would love any insight with regard to schools. Primary, Intermediate and High School as will have to find one for each !!!!!!!!

Looking at poss Long Bay /Rangitoto high schools, and poss Northcross Intermediate , unsure regarding primary schools........

Any experiences good/bad would be most welcome.

Many thanks

x

[Familyofmonkeys]

All of the Primary Schools in this area are good

Each of the schools has their own 'atmosphere' so it's worth paying them a visit...some are more sports focused while others have more opportunities for Arts/Music etc. They all have strict enrollment zones but it is possible to do an out of zone application. Some schools have a swimming pool which kids get to use over the summer, but there are also plenty of very good places to get swimming lessons on the North Shore (such as Hilton Brown) so this may not be important to you. Some of the schools are much larger than others, which is something that may be important to you or not. Pinehill School and Albany Primary School are very large with about 650 kids in each. Oteha Valley School, Sherwood School, Brown's Bay School, Torbay School and Glamorgan School are all a bit smaller, which I personally prefer because my children are shy. There are also a number of private schools...Kristen and Pinehurst spring to mind and they both have a very good reputation. There is also St. Johns Catholic primary school in Mairangi bay and City Impact Church now has an attached pentecostal-style Christian School too.

[Helsandfamily]

My children (aged 7 and 9) have gone to Browns bay primary, and it has been very good for them. I agree that all the schools in the area that you mention are good schools. I have friends who have thier children at Torbay and Glamorgan Schools and they feel the same. I honestly believe in this area you won't go far wrong.

[hosebergine]

Our eldest is at Torbay School and we are big fans of the rounded education she is experiencing - I'm not just talking academic but social as well. They have lots of themes that drive learning - last term they had a couple of weeks looking at music and dads with DIY tools were invited in to help kids make musical instruments. They were then decorated by the kids and they had a concert at the end of the fortnight. They've had book weeks with all the kids making a hat about their favourite book etc etc etc. It's a lovely, busy school with cream weatherboard classrooms and lots of space to play. Can't talk highly enough about it.

Friends have children at Northcross Intermediate and are very happy with the facilities on offer as well as the process they go through to integrate new children into an appropriate learning structure.

We also have friends who had to choose between Rangitoto and Long Bay College when they arrived from the UK. They chose the latter. Rangitoto were unhelpful when they asked to visit the school to have a look round, saying that people don't visit they just put their names down. Long Bay couldn't have been more different and got their vote after a really positive visit to the school. They have fitted in very well there despite being at what many would consider a difficult age to emigrate.

I think generally the standard is super up here. If you can wait until you arrive to view them then you may have opinions on the feel of the school plus the out of zone places for primary schools are pretty limited now so if you are very keen on one you will probably need to be in zone. One thing I would say is that Rangitoto is enormous and some say that drugs have been a problem but I have no proof.

You might want to look at a map to see how easy you'll find school runs / the school bus services depending on where you are going to live. There is an awful lot of after-school activity available and you might feel a bit like a taxi with three children in very different locations but obviously I don't know how you live so this might not be an issue :-)

[Janey]

like the above poster my DS is at Torbay I was really impressed with the welcome pack and what he is learning, considering he has had a topsy turvey 18 months (long story) he has coped well in year 5 and enjoys the before/after school club. Again I know people in who have children in Northcorss and Glamorgan who praise these schools. We now live out of the the Torbay catchment area (We are in Glamorgan) but this has not been a problem. Also I have a friend who lives in Torbay out of Rangitito and again has had no problem securing a place.
Trnasport is pretty good here Torbay school has a before and after school care which takes children from Glamorgan and Northcross. Both Glamorgan and Torbay have swimming pools and Torbay also does sailing in summer term

[louloumama3]

Many thanks for all your replies.... we can't really make decisions I guess until we are there and as you say get a 'feel' for the schools, but it helps to research things a bit first.

As you say "familyofmonkeys" I think smaller schools for my lot may be slightly better also. At the mo I am very keen I think for Long Bay High, Northcross Intermediate and Torbay. How feasible is it to have one in each ???? or do the zones policy not even make this possible???

Many thanks to you all for your input.

Lou x

[Janey]

they are all in the same zone the schools you have quoted, Northcross is fed from Torbay, Glamorgan, Browns Bay, Sherwood anf Long Bay Primaries. The choice is then whether you go to Long Bay college, or Rangitoto as I understand it!

[louloumama3]

Many thanks janey

[Familyofmonkeys]

As you say "familyofmonkeys" I think smaller schools for my lot may be slightly better also.

There is a lot of emphasis in the Kiwi education system on confidence building and social skills. I've found my shy children were quite overwhelmed being surrounded by lots of comparatively confident and outgoing peers, so I would recommend trying not only visiting to get a feel for the schools, but make an appointment to talk with the head and possibly also the relevent year group teachers too. We did have a good look around the larger schools in the area too, but found that although the had excellent facilities (due to the size) and we preferred the more 'personal' feel of the smaller schools, even though their may not be so well resourced. My older two are now at Oteha Valley School which has a nice balance of modern facilities but smaller size. They also teach French to years 5 and 6 (with French club open to all kids too), which we liked because not that many primary schools routinely teach languages as part of their curriculum here.

[Ben2008]

Hi. Does anyone here know/heard anything about St Mary's School Northcote? When we got our PR and wrote to the schools, St Joseph's Takapuna and St John'sMairangi Bay were both full.