ACG Tauranga is a private coeducational day school located on the outskirts of

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The school is owned and operated by Auckland-based private education company ACG Schools (formerly known as

Academic Colleges Group ACG Schools (formerly known as ACG Education) is a New Zealand–based private education company that operates schools and preschools in New Zealand and Asia. Incorporated as a New Zealand Limited Liability Company in 1994 it established its f ...

). The school opened at the beginning of the 2015 school year, and initially offered places for Year 1–9 students. It now offers education from preschool to Year 13. It is the first private school in Tauranga since Tauranga Rudolf Steiner School integrated into the state system in March 2005. It is the latest of

's 10 schools, whose New Zealand schools are members of Independent Schools of New Zealand (ISNZ). Thea Kilian is the current principal, transferring from her role as Deputy Principal from Auckland's Long Bay College. The school is currently owned and operated by

Inspired Education Group Inspired Education Group is a co-educational, non-denominational, international provider of for-profit private schools. It was founded in 2013 by Lebanese-British businessman Nadim Nsouli and is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The grou ...

, an international provider of for-profit schools.

Background

The school was announced via

press release A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...

from ACG in August, 2013. It is ACG's first domestic school outside of the

Auckland region Auckland () is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban areas of New Zealand, urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland, Auckland metropolitan area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands o ...

. Of ACG's existing domestic schools, ACG Tauranga is closest in nature to

ACG Strathallan ACG Strathallan is an independent co-educational school located on the Hingaia Peninsula in Karaka, New Zealand, close to the Auckland Southern Motorway. It is part of ACG Education (formerly known as Academic Colleges Group) whose New Zealand s ...

Papakura Papakura is a suburb of South Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland City Centre. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council. The ar ...

, south of

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, which opened in 2001. The development was initially opposed by the

Tauranga City Council Tauranga City Council is the Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority for the List of cities in New Zealand, city of Tauranga, New Zealand. The council consists of nine councillors, each elected from one of nine wards, and ...

, however work was underway in February 2014. The school covers 14 hectares, formerly a

kiwifruit Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi), or Chinese gooseberry, is the edible berry (botany), berry of several species of woody vines in the genus ''Actinidia''. The most common cultivar group of kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa, ...

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

. Amenities will include a gymnasium, three sports fields, a utility building, and parking. As well as hard courts, a sports pavilion, horticultural building and an

Early Childhood Education Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of Education sciences, education theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is ...

centre. The first public meeting was held in April 2014 at Trinity Wharf Hotel in Tauranga. ACG claims over 200 parents and teachers attended from across the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

.' In 2016, construction of the new three-storey gymnasium began. It was completed in May 2017.

Curriculum

The

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curriculums or curricula ) is the totality of student experiences that occur in an educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experi ...

is aligned closely to the Cambridge International programme. As with all domestic ACG schools, ACG Tauranga offers the

Cambridge International Examinations Cambridge International Education (abbreviated CIE, informally known as Cambridge International or simply Cambridge and formerly known as CAIE, Cambridge Assessment International Education and CIE, Cambridge International Examinations) is a pro ...

(CIE) instead of the

National Certificate of Educational Achievement The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the official secondary-school qualification in New Zealand. Phased in between 2002 and 2004, it replaced three older secondary-school qualifications. The New Zealand Qualifications A ...

(NCEA). Its first cohort of Year 13 students achieved a 100% pass rate in all A Level subjects in 2019. In 2023, ACG Tauranga celebrated academic excellence in the Cambridge Examinations with the school’s first-ever ‘Top in World’ award (AS-Level Mathematics). The school also achieved 100% A-Level pass rate and Y13 university entrance.

Schools

The school is divided into Junior (Year 1–6), Middle (Year 7–9) and Senior (Year 10–13) Schools. It also has a preschool.

External links

ACG Tauranga website

Academic Colleges Group website

References

{{Schools in Bay of Plenty Private schools in New Zealand Cambridge schools in New Zealand Schools in the Bay of Plenty Region Schools in Tauranga Educational institutions established in 2015 2015 establishments in New Zealand

Background

Curriculum

Schools

See also

External links

References