
Each academic term is approximately 10 weeks. The Term vacations are two weeks long.
The New Zealand summer vacation is December and January (this is when students return home)
Senior students may return home after their NCEA exams.
When is a good time to start ?
Short Term Students (up to 10 weeks) : Short term students can start at nearly any time of year. If you start in January you can join a summer sport and enjoy the New Zealand summer.
Medium Term Students ( 10 weeks to 4 terms): Spending more than one term or even a whole year at Wellington College means you have far more options. You can be part of the summer and winter sports programmes as well as all of the events on the Arts and Culture calendar. Note: only year 9 and 10 students can start in Term 4, a great way to take part in our junior drama and outdoor education programmes while senior students are on study break.
Long Term Students : Regardless of year level a January Term 1 start is always the best. Starting in Term 1 means you begin the year with your peers and have the whole academic, sporting and cultural year ahead of you. It is strongly recommended that a student entering into a Level 2 (Year 12), or a Level 3 (Year 13) course starts in January. As a guide only, an IELTS overall score of 5.5 should mean a Year 12 or Year 13 will be competitive in the NCEA Level 2 and Level 3 internal assessments and external examinations. I recommend talking to Mike m.ellett@wc.school.nz or Feng f.yu@wc.school.nz to work out the best start time for your student.