The University of Auckland is a public research university & the largest, most comprehensive &…read morehighest-ranked university in New Zealand. It was established in 1883 & today about 40,000 students are enrolled on 5 Auckland campuses. The City Campus, in the Auckland CBD, has the bulk of the students & faculty . There are 8 faculties, including a law school & 3 associated research institutes. I was impressed to see a full Māori Marea on campus. I understand there are over 3,000 or almost 8% Of the student body is aboriginal. They have a study abroad for program & American students are in attendance & seem happy here.

This Uni does have amazing facilities, whether you like echoey old buildings, or shiny new ones. It…read morehas a lot of food places, clubs, support groups and events throughout the year. If you head to the quad on a Thursday, there's always a cheap market if you're looking for something a little different. Well, the education and facilities may be great, but the admin is PURE CONCENTRATED HELL! Okay, there I said it. Whether it's sending you to the back of beyond for a lecture about Asian Cinema to some obscure place in the Science Building, not telling you that they changed what papers you have to do for your degree in the middle of your degree, or sending you to multiple different offices just so someone can finally say 'no, sorry, we can't help you with that'. Bureacratic red tape nightmare! Make sure you check and double check your papers every year and don't give up if you need something. Also, never, ever listen to what SSO tells you. It's all crap. Go talk to a human being, preferably your faculty HOD. Don't get me wrong though: I absolutely loved going to Auckland. I recommend you sign up at the AUSA, just so you get the free diary (with map inside). It helped me with 4 years of Uni! :)

My nephew comes here and he absolutely loves it. The standard of childcare in New Zealand is high…read moreand this is one of its best centres. It's a Reggio centre whose principles concentrate on a child's development and many childcare centres in New Zealand are based on this. The children are catered for, getting a morning/afternoon tea and lunch. The parents of the children are emailed out an update every day on the activities of the children at the centre - this is great for parents and really keep them in the loop. The teachers in the school are all passionate about childcare and each child is given a lot of attention and care. I think what attracts a lot of young couples to come live in New Zealand is the emphasis on children and a child friendly environment. There are many good centres in Auckland but this is, by all accounts one of the best.

What can I say about this amazing new centre. I had the pleasure of being shown around this amazing…read morecentre (just out of interest) and I'm very impressed, not only about the location, but the amazing space purpose built for kids in this great thriving community. The centre is large with ideal spaces for babies and a toddler areas too. Plenty of arts and creative space, kitchen, bathrooms and laundry area and also some beautiful outdoor play areas for the little ones. The centre director Cindy was excellent, very knowledgeable and passionate about her work. I would surely love for my kid to go here. I'm however confident in all other children's experiences and parents too as my child went to another centre of the same owner (Blue Frog) and I've also seen another Mangere Bridge Centre - Spotted Frog and all three are of high calibre and provides excellent teaching staff for all ages 0-6 years.

This is a really wonderful venue with the primary function of a performing arts school, rehearsal…read morespace and performance venue. It also runs seminars, has a café and is now home to The Actors Programme. It runs a full range of evening and weekend part time classes, with programmes covering all the performing arts with everything from acting for screen and stage, singing, dance and if you want to run away and join the circus, you can learn the tricks here. There's something for every age group and a lot of well respected industry professionals run workshops out of here. It's a really wonderful space that is intrinsic to Auckland's artistic community and even if you are more of an observer than a participant, TAPAC has something for everyone, so at least come and see a show. There's school holiday programmes as well as term time programmes and the facilities and tutors are top class. Bloody marvellous!

TAPAC is a bit of an Auckland institution. Virtually any kid growing up in central Auckland with an…read moreinterest in the performing arts will have heard of TAPAC, even if they didn't attend any classes there. TAPAC is recognised as one of the best performing arts facilities in the area, with an extensive range of classes available -for all ages and abilities - as well as great studios and mini theatres for rehearsals and performances. In my early teens I participated in an acting class at TAPAC. The class was great. It covered a variety of styles of acting, whether for screen or the stage, and it was really good for boosting my self confidence and leadership qualities - though I didn't realise it at the time of course! Whether dancing, acting, singing or even circus skills and acrobatics are your forte, or you've just always wanted to give them a try - TAPAC is the place for you. Tip: TAPAC also host school holiday programmes, so if your child is unsure about signing up to regular lessons this is a good way to see whether they want to pursue these classes any further!

This is where both my children spent (and one is still spending) their primary years. It has long…read morehad a reputation as being one of the best schools in the central Auckland suburbs, so much so that house prices, including rentals, in the area are a good hundred dollars more (per week, rental or add three zeros for purchase) than those just over the boundary. All parents in Auckland come up against the bloody school zone dilemma because opinions are like arseholes - everyone has one. In the end I think that you can never know what a school is like for your particular child and family until you try it yourself. Our first few years here were great, although it's important to note that this is a "learning" school for teachers which means there's a good proportion who are just starting out in their careers. This has proved to be a positive and a negative - it just depends on the teacher. After a really great three or so years things things began to slide and choices were being made that many parents were questioning. The outcome of this is that the school is currently under a temporary principal (who seems to be doing a great job under the circumstances) and the hope is that the new permanent principal will start in Term 2 2013. The school community is very much looking forward to this as big decisions regarding the way forward will once again be possible so if you are thinking of this school for your child, keep your ear to ground and see what happens.

I never actually went to Maungawhau, but I had friends who did. They turned out alright. My…read moreintroduction to this place was years after primary school, when I was inducted into the illicit, underground cricket ring that operated out of here. Illicit and underground might be overstating it a bit. Basically we would just play little games of cricket on the courts here in the afternoons sometimes. For a school grounds after hours it's nice how much use it gets. Quite apart from us wrecking our shoulders pretending we know how to bowl, you often see other people throwing balls around, or small children on roller blades and bikes being trailed by weary, obliging parents. This school is a focal point of the community not only because it's a school, with everything that entails, but also because of the space itself and the use people make of it. This is really nice to see, and we're happy to donate several tennis balls to the cause (we've left most of them on the roof, and a couple lodged in that big tree).

Fantastic experience at this swim school - especially swim instructors (Chloe is our fave!) who…read moregently and creatively guided our once nervous girl to grow in confidence and have fun in the water...Now she looks forward to her lessons every week!

My niece teaches at Dean Greenwood Swim School and I can tell you the youngsters are in good hands…read more She has the longtime experience and backing to impart life-saving skills of swimming to the children. My children all had swimming lessons from a very young age and it is no different at Dean Greenwood Swim School. Learn to swim classes are 30 minutes duration and allow for games in which skills are introduced and developed, which makes the whole experience FUN and something the kids want to come back to. These classes are at various locations around Auckland, my niece is at the Kelston School Pool.

I did a Creative Writing Diploma via correspondence with these guys. They provided a Tutor to give…read moreme feedback, rather than a grading system, which I thought was really useful. All the course material was very thorough, and gave me a good understanding of creating characters and dialogue, which was previously a sketchy area for me. I liked the structure of the course, and they regularly kept in contact. They also do photography, journalism, proofreading, communication and life coaching courses. You can work on them when you like and as often as you like. Their website looks a bit unprofessional and boring, but don't be fooled. You'll definitely learn a few things.

The first time I saw this place, I walked past it wondering what an earth a Texan Art schools shop…read morewas doing in the NorthWest mall!? Maybe it had something to do with the 'Wild West'!? The window display sent that theory straight out the window - not a cactus in sight, a cowboy or desert-scape! Well, it turns out this place has nothing to do with Texas or Texan Art Schools - the name is simply a play on words: Tech n' Art schools. Apparently, if you say it really fast three times, you end up saying Texan Art Schools! Right, now that we've got that cleared up let's focus on what these guys specialize in! Basically, you'll find a nice range of hand-made pottery, jewelry, prints and other hand crafted items by New Zealand artists. Plenty of Kiwi motifs and themes to choose from, so an ideal place for a spot of souvenir shopping. Prices seem to be on par with other souvenir style arts and crafts stores.