Making sure your children are in a good school is a key objective of most parents. When the whole family is moved abroad this becomes even more important – if the kids aren’t settled, how can you be?

In August 2016, 39,600 people arrived in New Zealand with work visas. Most of those came from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Australia. For Brits, New Zealand is the fifth most popular country for them to take up residence.

New Zealand sells itself as a great country to move to thanks to the great opportunities it offers for lifestyle, job opportunities and quality of life. But what about education? Would your children be better off learning their ABCs in a New Zealand school?

The Leaning Curve report by Pearson Education ranked the UK sixth in terms of countries which have the best schools. New Zealand is ranked 16th. But other rankings based on maths and science, at the age of 15 were also collated and showed that New Zealand stood at number 17 in the world, with the UK coming in at number 20.

Making the grade it seems is a complicated process and there are plenty of facts and figures that support both countries as good places to educate your children.

The Pearson Education report also showed that the UK spends 12.72% of public expenditure on education as % of total government expenditure whilst in New Zealand it’s 18.67%. Could it be that the New Zealand system is more efficient and more modern? You could reasonably deduce that in New Zealand education is more valued than in the UK but is that the real story?

The school system in New Zealand is in some respects similar to the UK one. Students in New Zealand must attend education between the ages of 6-16, although most enroll on and around their fifth birthday. Children work their way through primary and secondary school before moving onto further education. In both countries this can be vocational or tertiary education. There are obviously variations in the schooling and curriculum but the general flow of education would be familiar to expats.

In fact, it’s within tertiary education that New Zealand really stands out. A report called Education At A Glance 2015 produced by the OECD showed that New Zealand students were a third more likely to go onto gain a degree than those in the UK. In fact, over 90% of the New Zealand school population have gone onto the gain a masters, whereas in the UK this figure is below 60%. To add fuel to the fire, all of New Zealand’s eight universities were ranked within the top 500 QS World University Rankings for 2015/16.

The decisions around where and how to educate your children is a complicated and personal business. New Zealand offers many opportunities in terms of scholarly attainment coupled with opportunities across a broad base of lifestyle choices which for nearly 40,000 people a year is a huge draw. But is it the right choice for you?

If you are considering a move to New Zealand PSS International removals can help. We are a family run company and our desire is to ensure your family receives a friendly, professional and stress free overseas move. We have specialised in international removals for over 34 years, so whether you are planning on sending a full or part household removal, excess baggage or a vehicle we recognise the importance of ensuring our customers receive the same level of care and attention that we would expect ourselves.

Contact us now for a free estimator’s survey, or simply fill in our online moving or baggage quote form.