Source: New Zealand Government
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that Aotearoa Infinite Academy, Te Aratika High School, and Altum Academic, will open in Term 1 2026 as charter schools.
“Every child deserves an education that gives them the opportunity to learn and grow in ways which are more specific to their needs. All of the schools announced today demonstrate the innovation enabled by the charter school model,” Mr Seymour says.
- Aotearoa Infinite Academy is an online school for students. The school recognises that many students face barriers to attendance and provides those students with another option. The school teaches students in small virtual classrooms, which removes some of those barriers. For example, students whose location gets in the way of their education, or who don’t benefit from being in traditional classrooms.
- Te Aratika High School in the Hawkes Bay will prepare disengaged Māori and Pacific students for employment. Students will learn a vocational curriculum primarily focussed on the trades, and tailored to each individual. The school recognises that many students have had a tough start to life, which has hurt their relationship with education. The teaching style will rebuild the relationship by tying in the cultural values of students to create a sense of belonging.
- Altum Academy will be the first charter school to open in Wellington. Altum will look at addressing the equity gap in education by enabling disadvantaged students access to a school with strong teaching workforce. The school will teach Classical Education. Students will be taught how to learn and thinkbased on the Trivium method. The method identifies a three-stage natural development of a students’ education; grammar, logic, and rhetoric. In the early years (Grammar stage) students learn facts through recitation and repetition, and by asking ‘what’. In the middle years (Logic stage) students learn to ask ‘how’ and ‘why’. In the high school years (Rhetoric stage) students will learn to persuade others that facts are true.
“They will join the three new charter schools announced in August opening in Term 1 2026. This takes the total number of charter schools to 14. We expect more new charter schools to be announced before the end of the year, along with the first state schools to convert,” Mr Seymour says.
“I want to thank the Charter School Agency and independent Authorisation Board for the work they have done to progress this important work. They oversaw a robust and fair application process this year, which considered 52 applicants for new charter schools.
“This is just the beginning. I hope to see many more new charter schools opening, and state and state-integrated schools converting to become charter schools.
“The huge demand to open charter schools not only highlights the need, but also the commitment of people to provide varied educational opportunities for young New Zealanders to maximise educational outcomes. Positive education outcomes can lead to better health, higher incomes, better job stability and greater participation within communities. These are opportunities that every student deserves.”
