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Providers and partners
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- NZQA's quality assurance system for tertiary education organisations
- Guidelines and forms
- Consistency of graduate outcomes
- Approval, accreditation and registration
- Monitoring and Assessment
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- External evaluation and review
- Assessment and moderation of standards
- Submitting results and awarding qualifications and micro-credentials
- Tertiary and International Learners Code of Practice
- Offshore use of qualifications and programmes
- Reform of Vocational Education
- International Education planning
- International
- About us
Coming to New Zealand for secondary school
Find out what to expect from New Zealand secondary school education.
Secondary school and NCEA
Secondary school in New Zealand begins in year 9. Students usually begin studying for NCEA (the National Certificate of Educational Achievement) in year 11.
In New Zealand, secondary schools are responsible for deciding which year level a student should be placed in. Schools will consider a number of factors including:
- the student’s age
- how many years of schooling they have completed
- any national school qualifications gained overseas.
Quality of NZ education
The New Zealand government regularly reviews education providers and their qualifications to ensure the quality of education remains high.
Quality assurance of New Zealand education
Code of practice for international students
NCEA brochures
You can read more about NCEA in our brochure, ‘Study in New Zealand: a guide for students considering secondary school study’.
The brochure is available in English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, German, Japanese, and Spanish.
You can download the brochure, or order print copies from NZQA brochures and videos.
Contact us
For more information or to give us feedback, email internationalunit@nzqa.govt.nz.