There is no special plan for international students with a low language level who enter from the…read moremiddle of the academic year, except to put the child in the classroom until after a long period of mental pressure and self-confidence damage, the child learns the language by himself. The teacher's behavior was very immature towards the new child. The school staff were arrogant and rude and behaved very badly on registration day. I do not recommend it at all. After 3 month my daughter doesnt like school forever

Balmoral School is really two schools; Balmoral Primary and Balmoral Intermediate. They share some…read moreof the resources obviously but are otherwise quite separate from each other. I can't say much about the Primary school other than everyone I know whose children have attended have been very happy with it and I've never heard a bad word said about either the Primary or Intermediate. My daughter is in her first year of Intermediate here and has so far been very happy. It's a small school compared to other central suburb middle schools which is an advantage or disadvantage depending on your thinking. True, the extra-curricular opportunities are not as many as varied as say, ANI, but children are constantly encouraged to bring their ideas for clubs and groups to the principals to be implemented. I like that they study Philosophy for Children which really encourages kids to delve into their own thinking and opinions on things (most recently the controversial Samoa Air price-by-weight decision). Overall, Balmoral Intermediate is about creating independent thinking and personal learning responsibility amongst the pupils, in readiness for the big step of secondary school. I also like that there's a mixture of socio-economic groups amongst the families here which works against the culture of entitlement becoming prevalent at some of our city's more affluent schools. Obviously it's an issue of where you live but I am very pleased with our experience at Balmoral School so far and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is struggling with the decision of where to live based on school zones - an unfortunate reality for parents of school aged children in Auckland, like it or not.

I've been at this institute for a few months. Unlike a lot of the students studying here, I took a…read morecertification in web development over three months. There were so many problems that I ended up not finishing the course and applied for withdrawal for which I only got a partial refund. I'd also like to mention here that I am not the first person to have problems with the institute. There have been internal problems spanning over several semesters. First of all, don't ever assume that this place is a quality education provider. IT'S A BUSINESS. Their number 1 priority is making profits and gaining funding. They will not hesitate to hire under-qualified lecturers just to fill seats in a classroom. They also have a no refund policy after 8 working days so you only get about a week to realise you've made a big mistake. Withdrawing within this first week will also cost you $500. The lecturer they hired was completely incompetent and even admitted himself that he mistook the course content when applying for the job. After discovering this fact, I applied for a withdrawal from the course. In the first month of the course, the lecturer sat at his desk while the students in the class self-studied from the outdated textbooks. However, there is no one more frustrating to deal with than the Dean. It took 3 months just to deal with the withdrawal process because he claims he is so "busy". He takes weeks to reply to emails and offers little communication. If you are looking to get certified in software or complete a diploma, you will waste your money and time studying here. There are so many better places (like Industry Connect or even Yoobee) than here. I've been told by numerous students that the certifications and diplomas from AMES IT hold very little value. There is very little support for its students and they will only look to you to make money. I hope my bad experience will prevent future students from making the same mistake I did. I just wish there was someone to tell me this so that I didn't have to end up losing $1600 to gain nothing in the end.

1+ years ago this was not the same institution in ownership or staff $17500 for a 9 month course…read morediploma that I have failed could have done a correspondence course for $14500 and get a degree. I gave up two job opportunities that i can no longer take up to go to this "School" (really a private training institute owned by a large group whom from my knowledge and personal experience are money driven not student driven in contrast to the Old AMES ownership). Don't waste your time here get a loan from a bank for sitting any external certification and personal teach yourself or pay $90 online for a course to teach for most of the course content they offer cause from my personal experience they failed to provide resources time and time again. If you think you will get a job out of there offered job placement, in reality its 4 maybe 5 out of 18 that get placed and of those 5 only 3 took up the jobs one of which was working at AMES itself so don't expect that (unless they keep rotating their staff as they have done while i was there). I will keep writing my review if you keep deleting it AMES I went to your "school" these are my views live with the bad media you created.

I went to AUT and studied Communication Studies. It was such an awesome time in my life and I…read morethoroughly recommend it. The best thing about the university is that it focuses on both theory and practical learning. The lecturers have really good contacts within the industry they're teaching and this is how I got my first job. AUT is mostly known for its Communication Studies, Graphic Design, Fashion Design, an Sports related degrees. It's the perfect place to study if your desired career needs a lot of practical experience rather than just theory. I also met many great people who I am still in touch with today and have become valuable contacts.

AUT is the worst university ever. Your lecturers play favourites and I swear we don't get treated…read moreequally. Kissing ass is a must when you split up into your smaller specialized classes. I first went to Auckland University where I was failing. So I went to AUT where I got all A's for my generic first year classes. This is not because the lecturers were better or anything, but because the work was easier. So yes AUT has a great reputation for being the EASIER university. 2 stars because I did have fun and made friends and all that BS. I also graduated and made good money. But overall the quality of lecturers we got were bad. I remember all my professors at Auckland Uni all being Doctors. We had professors that had diplomas or just bachelors. Shouldn't they all have at least a masters or something to teach us?

Even though the Stardome is now named after a benefactor (can't be helped I guess), it is still as…read morecool as it ever was. The staff don't mind if you just wander in and have a look around and the foyer alone has enough to amuse the kiddies for at least half an hour, probably longer. During the school holidays they run all kinds of fun stuff and if you haven't been before, it's unlike anything else you can do around the town. You absolutely have to be organised and book in advance and maybe the movie is a bit dated, but it's fascinating and presented in a way that makes astronomy accessible to everyone - even 3 year olds. There's an arty crafty session where the kids get to make their own (artistically questionable) souvenir but the highlight is that the film is shown Cinema 180 style on the ceiling. A bit hard on the neck but SO worth it. You can hire the Stardome for functions but when I looked into booking it for an event, I ran in to the problem of how to keep kids from playing unsupervised in the lobby so that's something to consider. I'm ashamed to say I have never been here in the evening and actually looked through that giant telescope at the night sky. I intend to do it every Winter but late nights out in Winter just don't seem to happen. This is the year.

We were thinking about what show we should pick and have chosen "The winter sky". It was just…read moreamazing, to see what stats and planets we can see with our naked eye from Auckland. At least in good weather. After the show we went outside to see the Saturn through telescopes. Not the Zeiss one, but smaller. I saw the Saturn through the telescope for the first time and it was the biggest happy moment I have had in years! You can actually see the planet and the rings! Super cool! We haven't had a chance to use the Zeiss telescope because of the weather, but we are definitely going to do this next time.

My kids went here for over two years and I have friends with wee ones still attending. It's a…read morepurpose-built childcare centre with all the mod cons and they recently extended by taking over the entire site next door and doubling their size. It's a big move to send your poppets off to daycare but Little Wonders makes the transition easier. There is a real family feel to the place and the staff seem to really enjoy being with the kids which makes a big difference. There's a cook to cook healthy lunch every day so you don't have the morning drama of sorting out the lunchbox. They get to do all those activities that you don't want them doing at home like play dough, water play, messy painting, cooking and more. I'm not sure where the fees are at these days but whatever they are it's probably worth it.