Testimonials

The following ex-students from our International Department share their experiences:

Ellen
Age: 17
Country: Germany

The purpose for coming to NZ was first of all to improve my English and to learn a lot about NZ. I was always interested in NZ but I never saw a chance to get over here.

I was in the Outdoor Academy. First we did hiking and kayaking. Both things I had never really done before. I learned a lot about the sports and how to enjoy them. And I learnt how to be part of a group which is so important for your whole life.

The teachers treated me like they treat everybody else, which I really enjoyed. But in case of understanding problems they spoke slower or described what they meant.

I also did Food Skills for Life, Chemistry and English.

Other activities I did were bone carving every Tuesday evening and I started going to an extra kayak training group on Monday and Thursday evening.

Yuan Wang

I have been here for one year since I first came to New Zealand. During my studying time, I learn lots of new knowledges from Aranui High School, such as learning skills and social abilities. I am quite happy with living with my homestay family and pleased to meet lots of people from all over the world . Most of the teachers in the school are good, not only good at teaching but also they are working hard. You are very welcome to ask your concerns and discuss them with teacher at the class. In additional, you will find it is easy to make friends at school because most of the native students at Aranui High School are friendly. I like my school and enjoy studying and living in NewZealand.

Joyce

Hello! My name is Joyce. I am 16 and I come from China. My aim to come to New Zealand was to progress my English and have a different school life. I’ve been here nearly a year now. I am in Year 13 at Aranui High School. So I will graduate soon. I will work hard to get my best scores for NCEA LEVEL 3.

There is a block at school for International students called the International Department. Whenever we have a break we can go back there and have a rest. But some of our students would choose to go and join the Kiwi students. If you have any problems with study you can talk with the International Department staff. They gave me some suggestions about choosing subjects.

I love sports! So I joined the school sports teams for badminton and basketball. So I have training nearly everyday after school. I really enjoy it. All my experience has changed me so much. I have to process everything, I have to allocate the time myself. That’s very different from China. My great memory is the formal last year, it was my first ball. It was flash!

Lucas
Age: 17 years old
Country: Brazil

Well, this travel opportunity was a gift from my uncle as a birthday present. After I knew it was going to happen something quite bad started to develop in my mind. I was so scared and nervous, I thought the experience would be very difficult and I couldn’t do it. I had become almost sick with stress in my mind. I live in a very small town in the south of Brazil. I thought I liked my friends too much to stay 6 months at the other side of the world.

I had a very hard time prior to this trip. Actually, I can’t explain now what I thought about this exchange, it was just something like a very unconfident feeling inside my chest.

But once I travelled overseas and arrived here and met my host family, everything changed. That scary feeling about a new world, new country and new culture just disappeared from my mind. I saw that the world is not so big, and here I could find people like my friends that I was so scared to lose for 6 months. The culture is not so different, the people neither.

So now I would say this experience – actually I still don’t know how or what the experiences concept is for me because it’s been such an amazing thing for me – I just would say that this experience has been my biggest experience until now.

So if you’ve got this opportunity, just do it and see how great it is with your own eyes.

Mo Chuarayaprathip
Thailand

I have been studying at Aranui High School for almost 3 years now. As far as I’m concerned Aranui is known for strength in sports and drama in particular. Yet, in terms of academic study the number of our senior students who made it into university increases every year. From a cultural aspect, Aranui is a multicultured secondary school including Asian, Kiwi, European, Maori, Pacific Islander etc. It gives the students some advantages to learn and experience other cultures from different countries. This is particularly good for overseas students who are interested in an exchange programme or a short-term stay. Our international department I personally think is excellent. I have always been supported and encouraged by them. English lessons, known as ESOL are always provided for international students to be able to apply in real life situations.

Pan Cuixue
19 years old

I’d like to study in NZ. Learn another cultural in different country.

I come from China. I’ve lived with my home stay for a long time ago. About more than two years. I really like living in home stay. Sometimes the Kiwi people give me a family feeling. If you have any problem, tell your Home stay mother or father, they are very happy to help you. In the school, you are an international student. If you have any school trouble the teachers will help you.

My favorite school subjects are mathematics, computing and English. I play badminton every Tuesday after school. There are lots of students who play. Some of the Kiwi students are my friends.

This is a great peaceful place for study. The people are very friendly. They are happy for you all the time and your home stay parents will take you around Christchurch.

My favorites food is the main dinner my home stay makes. Sometimes I like fish & chips or KFC. In my spare time I go shopping with my friend, go to the library and read the magazines, or maybe stay at home and study, and at night time I surf the internet.

New Zealand is a wonderful place for us. I hope lots of students choose to come to New Zealand and study in the future.