Student Reviews

Hi! I'm Rio Takagi from Gifu, Japan. I decided to come to Dunedin, New Zealand for my high school life because I wanted to study in a relaxed space and to experience activities that I can't experience in Japan. My main purpose was to improve my English skills, which are definitely essential for my future.

I chose Bayfield High School because of two reasons. First, there is a subject called Outdoor Education. As I said before, I wanted to do some activities in New Zealand, so I was very attracted to the subject, and I have done kayaking, sailing, rock climbing and so on! Those were exciting, and I had a memorable time. Second, there are many options for subjects that I can choose, such as Outdoor Education and Drama. This is good because I can experience and challenge myself to try new things that I can't do in other subjects.

I have really enjoyed the international trips here at school. There are big trips where I can visit famous places in New Zealand. For example, Lake Tekapo and Milford Sound. These trips are very good opportunities to make great friends with other international students from different countries and to learn about nature and the culture of New Zealand. In addition, I really enjoy being with my Kiwi friends at school. They are very friendly, so once you talk to them (which takes a little bit of courage), you will make good friends. I'm glad to have great friends at Bayfield High School.

The school has given me many opportunities. Teachers at Bayfield are always kind to me. Whenever I didn't understand anything after I just arrived here, every teacher helped me and directed me to the right place. Also, the International Coordinators are helpful because if I'm having a problem with subjects or with my home stay, they give me solutions as quickly as possible. This is why I can stay at school with comfort.

I'm glad to be at Bayfield High School!!

Two years ago, I started thinking about spending some time abroad. At this point I had no idea where I would go. The following year I looked around and researched many places and chose New Zealand. The beautiful nature was one of the things that convinced me to go here, so I chose Dunedin, as the city is not too big and close to the ocean, but also not too far from the mountains. Then it came to choose a school. In the end, I chose Bayfield High School, as it offered many possibilities such as many different sports and music lessons. I played Volleyball during the first term and took cello lessons. I even got the opportunity to participate in a chamber music competition, which was something completely new for me. The school system here is different from Switzerland, so I took the opportunity and tried new subjects such as Food Technology and Outdoor Education. In particular, Outdoor Education was a really challenging and fun subject as we could experience new activities such as kayaking, sailing and even get a first aid certificate.

The school also organises trips for us as international students. I went on one of them and got to know a new part of New Zealand and had a good time with my friends. Some trips are also organised for all the students such as the tramping trip. We went away for 8 days, carrying all we needed in our backpacks. This was a real challenge, but the experience was worth it.

I had an amazing time here. The students and the teachers integrate you really fast and help you whenever they can. Everyone makes you feel welcome and you soon feel like a part of Bayfield. I’ve made very good friends here and I am really happy that I chose to go to New Zealand and Bayfield High School.

I am Boss Nanthamanop, an international student from Thailand. I was one of those lazy students and I used to feel like all school subjects were boring back in Thailand because all those subjects were compulsory, and I was not enjoying my studying at all. But when I first came to Bayfield I was so excited about all the subjects that they have here. Also, I can make my own choice about what I want to study. Now I really enjoy all the subjects that I am doing which are ESOL, Technology - Mechanical Engineering, Design and Visual Communication, Economics, Math Calculus and Tourism. These subjects are not only theory based, I also get to work in the real workshops which makes me more interested in studying and not feel like studying is boring anymore.

I am also enjoying the activities and sports at Bayfield High School such as Futsal, Football and Basketball and there are a few sports that I have never tried before in Thailand which are Surfing, Archery and Ice Hockey. The other thing that I think it is quite interesting about Bayfield High School is the variety of nations and all international students and kiwi students get along together quite well.

Hi, my name is Marina. I’m 17 years old and I’m from Brazil. I came to Bayfield to study in year 13, and it’s been a wonderful experience so far, I’m really happy!

The school system is totally different from my home country. Here I get to do the subjects that I like, and there are a lot of fun ones, like Outdoor Education, where I did kayaking, sailing, and other things, which I wouldn’t have the chance to do if I weren’t here. Bayfield also has a great Performing Arts department, and for those who don’t know, Performing Arts is music, drama, and dance combined. I got to participate in the school show Grease, which was amazing. Bayfield’s a very artistic school and that’s why I love it so much. Another great thing is that us, internationals, don’t feel left out. We are always included. The school provides international trips, where we can get to see the country even better and bond with our Kiwi friends.

Here in school everyone cares about me and makes sure I’m happy, following the right path, and doing what I want. They support me a lot, in terms of University Entrance, helping me get the credits needed and with my career itself, always suggesting courses to do to build my resume. Anyway, this is a little bit about my experience. I hope it helps in your choice, and I hope you come to Bayfield. It’s a pretty fun school, and you won’t regret it.

Konnichiwa. My name is Hinako Shimura from Aichi, Japan. I chose here because this school has an attractive class that is “Outdoor Education”. When I joined the Japanese study abroad festival, I met Mr Cameron who is International Director of International students. He showed me the video of Bayfield High School and that made me feel “Ohhhh!!!! I want to study at that school, it looks like so much fun.” This school’s Outdoor Education programme made me choose Bayfield High School. Also, there is a sea near by Dunedin, lots of greenery and if you are lucky, you can see wild penguins and sea lions! This nature also made me want to go Dunedin and Bayfield.

Outdoor Education and Tramping are most enjoyable for me. In Outdoor Ed, I experienced lots of activities in class. My favourite class was Rock Climbing because I had wanted to do rock climbing for a long time. In tramping, I went on the Mueller Hut, Abel Tasman and Rees/Dart tramping trip in 2017. Every time I felt “oh no I want to go home right now, and I won’t join up ever again” but once when the tramping was finished, I felt so, so, so much accomplishment and almost forgot the negative feelings that I had during the tramping.

There are lots of international trips and events to get closer with other international students and kiwis students. For example, we go to Milford Sound, Tekapo and Queenstown through the year.  Buddy Chat is on every Thursday where we talk to people in English and play games with everyone. Sometimes we go ice skating together or hold an international cooking day at school and share each country’s food.

We are looking forward to seeing you at Bayfield High School!!!!! I’m spending lots of good times here. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Guy. Before I came here I was so scared because my English is quite bad, and I was afraid to meet with new people, but when I came here all the teachers were welcoming to me and made me feel comfortable. They pay attention to all students especially the international students.

Bayfield High School is quite a quiet place and chilled. All people are so kind here. When I was in my country, Thailand, I had never played any sport in school before because they are so serious with the game. This year I have got involved with some sport games which I have enjoyed. Everyone is so kind. Also, in the classroom all teachers and classmates always help me. Today I feel more comfortable and more confident because no one in school have ever blamed me with the things that I have missed. Nowadays I’m feeling so happy when I’m going to school.  I can learn a subject that I want to and join activities that I choose.

Hi my name is Marie-Helene, I am from Germany and I came to BHS, hoping to meet new people, improve my English skills and preferably do so somewhere near the ocean.  I can say that Dunedin was definitely the perfect place for this, as it offers an excellent mix of New Zealand’s nature and cities.

I have made many memories during my time here, one of my favourite ones is the 6-day tramping trip I did with the school’s tramping club in the Abel Tasman National Park.  It was an experience I wouldn’t want to miss, even though the tramp brought me to my limit at times, the view, the nature and the fun time I was able to spend with all the people was totally worth any “suffering”.

My favourite memory from this year has to be the weekend trip I did with my host family to Wanaka.  When I told my host family that I would like to go skydiving they offered to take me on a weekend trip to Wanaka so I could do so.  The skydiving was an exceptional experience, moreover, I’ve spent an amazing time with my 4 host sisters and my host parents, making me feel even more like having a second home away from home.

Overall, I can say I have met so many awesome and different Kiwis and other internationals from all over the world, making my stay so much better.  The teachers in school are very supportive, as soon as they realize one has a goal in sports, arts, academics or volunteering they’ll do everything in their power to help you achieve this goal.

All together this made me feel very welcome here in Dunedin and I can say these two years gave me more than I’ve ever hoped, and it definitely makes me look forward to making more memories during my last half year before I will graduate at the end of this year.

My parents and I decided to come to Dunedin because we think it is a quiet place, that will be good for high school study. When we first started to pick a school, we thought it is good to be in an environment with mixed gender, so I will have the ability to work with both girls and boys in the future and Bayfield High School is a co-ed school. As a person who started ballet and piano at a quite young age, and really enjoy them, Bayfield High School sounded wonderful, as it is quite strong in cultural activities. In addition, I knew I would be able to achieve academic excellence as I had looked at the NCEA pass rate from Bayfield High School in the past years.

When I joined the Bayfield family in Year 9, I was surprised by how many cultural and sport activities and clubs I could get involved in, and by the environment, nice small classes compared to a massive one in China. All the students and staff are really kind and nice to me. It is beneficial Bayfield High School offers ESOL classes for International students to improve their English. That helped me to integrate into the school and society a lot quicker in the first year.

Bayfield High School cares about each student. School helped me a lot when I needed help in all sorts of areas. In my years at Bayfield, it has offered me opportunities to play in the volleyball team, and start archery, get involved in orchestra, chamber music competition, school show, and to pick up new instruments, which I am interested in like the flute and cello. I have improved a lot on my music sight-reading by getting involved in the music related activities. I have also built my confidence through all the activities I do and was lucky enough to be able to play the school song and national anthem in the school assemblies on the piano.  I really loved the school show every year. I was able to experience both being in the pit with the band and on the stage dancing in the shows.

Academically I am able to experience a whole range of subjects to see what I am interested in and enjoy learning and am able to learn subjects not offered in my home country. All staff here have helped me to achieve better in my academic results and goals.

Bayfield is definitely the right school for me.