New Zealand has over 2,500 primary and secondary schools.There are three types of school: state, private (or registered or independent) and state integrated schools.

•State schools: Co-educational at primary and intermediate level, with some offering separate boys & girls school education at secondary level.
•Area/composite schools : Usually based in rural areas, these combine primary, intermediate and secondary schooling at one location
•Special education schools: State schools that provide education for students with special education needs. The curriculum is the same as at other state schools.
•Independent (private) schools: Governed by their own independent boards, but must meet certain standards in order to be registered. Independent schools may be either co-educational or single-sex. They charge fees, but also receive some subsidy funding from the government.
•Boarding schools: May either be independent or part of a state-funded school. All charge boarding fees.
•Integrated schools: Schools that used to be private and have now become part of the state system. They teach the New Zealand curriculum, but keep their own special character (usually a philosophical or religious belief) as part of their school program. They receive the same government funding for each student as state schools, but charge attendance dues to meet their property costs.
•Designated character schools: State schools that teach the New Zealand curriculum, but have been allowed to develop their own set of aims, purposes and objectives to reflect their own particular values.
•The Correspondence School (TCS): Provides distance learning for more than 20,000 students across New Zealand. Students may live a long way from their nearest school, live overseas, study with TCS for medical reasons or have special education needs.
• Kura kaupapa Maori: State schools where teaching is in the Maori language (te reo Maori) and is based on Maori culture and values. The curriculum is the same as at other state schools.

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