Enrolment

Welcome to Adventure School

Starting or changing schools is a major milestone for your family. We would love to show you around and discuss how we can support your child’s journey.

To arrange a visit with the Principal or one of our Deputy Principals, please contact the school office:

Phone: 234 7220
Email: office@adventure.school.nz

While we welcome in-zone enrolments at any time, early notification helps us plan ahead.

When to Enrol: Ideally, please enrol as soon as your child turns four, or as soon as you have secured a property within our zone.
How to Enrol: Please complete our enrolment form via this link

Supporting Documents

To process your application, please provide the following (scanned and emailed or brought into the office):

Proof of Identity: A Birth Certificate or Passport. (Include a Resident or Student Visa if applicable).
Proof of Address: Two documents verifying your in-zone address (e.g., utility bills, Tenancy Agreement, or Sales & Purchase Agreement).
Note: If you are still moving in, a second document can be provided once you receive your first one.

Once we receive your application and documents, we will contact you about the next steps.

New Entrants

We aim to make the move to school as seamless as possible through our transition programme. Once your child is enrolled, we will send you an Enrolment Pack and School Visit dates via post approximately 2 months before their start date. Keep an eye on your inbox, as we will also send a “heads-up” email when these are mailed out.

Cohort Entry (from 2027)

Starting in 2027, our school will transition to Cohort Entry. This means new students will start in small groups on specific dates rather than on their individual 5th birthdays.

Why Cohort Entry?

This approach helps children settle into school more effectively by allowing teachers to:

provide a dedicated welcome program so students feel supported together.
focus on teaching class routines to the whole group at once.
organise school visits that align specifically with start dates.

Your Child’s Start Date

In New Zealand, children can’t start before they turn 5 and must start by the time they turn 6.
Parents and caregivers can choose any cohort start date that falls between their child’s 5th and 6th birthdays.
There is an entry date at the start and mid-point of each term –
- Week 1: Cohort entry 1
- Week 6: Cohort entry 2

2027 Start Dates

These dates have been set by the Ministry of Education for all New Zealand schools who have Cohort Entry.

	Start of Term Entry Date	Mid-term Entry Date
Term 1	3 February	8 March
Term 2	27 April	31 May
Term 3	19 July	23 August
Term 4	11 October	15 November

Common Questions About Cohort Entry

Can my child start a day early if their 5th birthday is just after a cohort date?

No. New Zealand children cannot legally start school until they have turned 5 years old. They will need to wait for the next available cohort date.

Will this affect my ECE “20 Free Hours” funding?

No. Your child can remain at their Early Childhood Education (ECE) provider until their chosen cohort start date. They will continue to receive funding until they officially start school.

NB: Keep your ECE provider informed of your confirmed school start date.

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Preschool Visit

In the weeks before they start, your child will be invited to attend up to four school visits. These sessions allow your child to bond with their teacher and future classmates.

Parental Role: To meet Ministry requirements, parents must remain on-site during these visits. You are warmly invited to relax and connect with others in our staffroom while your child is in class.

Parent Information Mornings

Held twice a term, these mornings offer a wonderful window into life at Adventure. Experience a Year 1 classroom in action, followed by an informal Q&A session with our Deputy Principal (Years 0–4).

Will my child start as Year 0 or Year 1?

This depends on which term they start:

Term 1: Enrolled as Year 1.
Term 2, 3 or 4: Enrolled as Year 0 for the remainder of the year, moving to Year 1 the following year.

Preparing Your Child for School

Our New Entrant teachers create a warm, supportive space where they get to know each child, from their unique personality to the social and academic skills they bring to the classroom. Because every child is different, we meet them exactly where they are, tailoring our teaching to their needs.

Many parents ask how they can best prepare their child for school. To help, we’ve created a series of four videos with a panel of experts answering that exact question. You’ll also hear from our Principal and our Junior School Leader, who share our school’s approach to setting every child up for success.

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School Zone

Adventure School has been part of a Ministry mandated Enrolment Zone Scheme since 13 October 2008.

All students who live within the home zone described below will be eligible to enrol at the school.

Home Zone

The Adventure School home is defined as follows

All properties with direct access to the following roads and/or portions of roads are in zone:

Discovery Drive from and including numbers 57 and 66 and above on the odd and even numbered sides of the road respectively. All side and tributary roads to this section of Discovery Drive are included.
James Cook Drive and all side and tributary roads to it.
Joseph Banks Drive and all side and tributary roads to it.
Paremata Road between its intersections with James Cook Drive and Joseph Banks Drive.

School zone map (pdf)

Out of Zone Enrolments

Out-of-zone enrolments for 2026 are now closed.

Each year the board will determine the number of places that are likely to be available in the following year for the enrolment of students who live outside the home zone. The board will publish this information by notice in the newsletter and Facebook usually in September. The notice will indicate how applications are to be made and will specify a date by which all applications must be received.

The exact number of places will depend on the number of in-zone applications received. If the number of out of zone applications exceeds the number of places available, students will be selected by a ballot.

Applications are to be made on the official enrolment form on our website.

Applications for enrolment will be processed in the following order of priority:

If there are more applicants in the second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth priority groups than there are places available, selection within the priority group will be by a ballot conducted in accordance with instructions issued by the Secretary under Section 11G(1) of the Education Act 1989.

Applicants seeking second or third priority status may be required to give proof of a sibling relationship.