Accommodation

International students at Kerikeri High School live with local families during their stay in Kerikeri. The family provides you with your own room with a bed and furniture for personal items and study. You receive 3 meals a day and are cared for as a member of the family. You may have kiwi brothers and sisters or even another International student (from a different culture to you). Becoming part of a New Zealand family will immerse you in the New Zealand culture and make your stay here more rewarding. You will meet other New Zealanders and improve your English.

Homestay Family
Our homestay families are carefully selected and many will have hosted other international students before you. Families apply to the school to offer homestay accommodation, then the Homestay Manager visits the family, interviews them and checks that the family, home and student’s room are all of approved standards. All members in the family over 18 years old are police vetted.

The Homestay Manager matches up student preferences with suitable homestay families, so the more information about yourself that you put on your application, the easier and better the match. There are a variety of homestay options which include in town or out of town (rural). Some homestays are right in town on small sections and some are rural homestays which might include living on a farm where there are horses and other animals.

Many families live just outside of the town centre and have lovely large gardens and not many neighbours. There are school buses which transport you to and from school, host parents will assist with transport after school hours as much as possible and host families work together so that their students are able to get ‘out and about’ to see and experience life in the beautiful Bay of Islands. Before arriving, you will be sent the contact details for your host family so that you can make contact and get to know them before your arrival in New Zealand. You will also be given the contact details for your ‘kiwi buddy’ who will be in your form class and look after you for the first three weeks of school.

The homestay family and an International Department staff member will meet you when you arrive in Kerikeri. You will also receive a complementary arrival pack which includes a pre-paid sim card for your phone so that you can immediately call to let your family know you have arrived safely. You will then be welcomed into your new family’s home.