Refusing to be defeated by the earthquakes that devastated Christchurch, the New Zealand School of Food and Wine has restarted its operation in Auckland. Founded by Celia Hay, NZSFW opened its first campus in Christchurch in 1995. The school recently reopened its doors at the Viaduct in downtown Auckland, fully-equipped with modern demonstration and practical [...]

Poverty and financial stress go hand-in-hand with exams and assignments for New Zealand students, a recent report has found. Findings from this month’s Graduate Longitudinal Study Baseline Report show one in six university students can’t afford basic food, accommodation and clothing. Fifteen percent of New Zealand’s university population suffers from “absolute financial distress”, the report [...]

An Auckland high school is planning to use worm farms as part of a project to reduce its waste by 50 per cent before the end of the year. Western Springs College has received a $55,000 grant from the Government’s waste minimisation fund to set up six waste stations on school grounds, each with recycling [...]

Primary teachers are holding their breath hoping the Ministry of Education does not implement performance-based pay in New Zealand. Both the president of the New Zealand Principals Federation and the primary teachers’ union, the New Zealand Educational Institute, are strongly against any move to performance-based pay for teachers. Paul Drummond, from the NZFP, says performance [...]

Tartan-clad boys of all ages filled St Kentigern School on Friday for the school’s annual Celtic Day celebrations. The highly anticipated day arrived with much fanfare as pupils, parents and staff got involved in the day’s, um, cultural activities. Euan Allen has been the master of ceremonies for Celtic Day for the past seven years [...]

Teachers and school principals fear proposed Government budget cuts to education could harm children’s learning. The Treasury has released a report that says student achievement can be raised by improving the quality of teaching. The report also says: “Increasing student-teacher ratios can free up funding that could be used to support initiatives to enhance the [...]

Student unions are skeptical about whether an additional $800 million in the education and health sector in the Budget this year will improve issues surrounding New Zealand’s $12 billion student debt.  New Zealand is one of the few countries in the OECD to actually cut funding for tertiary education over the past 10 years, particularly [...]

Voluntary student unionism – in effect from January 1 this year – has seen New Zealand student associations forced to cosy up to their universities for funding in order to even function. Last year, the Voluntary Student Membership (VSM) Bill, or more formally the Education (Freedom of Association) Bill, proposed by Act MP Roger Douglas [...]

An Auckland-based charity has found a mobile way to get across its message about marine pollution. Sustainable Coastline’s Education Station, a shipping container converted into a mobile classroom, is due to arrive on Auckland’s waterfront this week. The modified container, equipped with audio visual resources, games and a museum-like display, will function as an educational [...]