KEY POINTS:
Several primary schools are joining secondary schools in signing up for international programmes to run alongside the national curriculum.
Ten primary schools are seeking approval to run the International Baccalaureate primary years programme, in addition to Kristin School, currently the only one to have it established at primary level.
They include a number of state schools, such as Waiheke.
Waiheke principal Maggie Twaddle said it was not a vote against the national curriculum, but the philosophies of the Baccalaureate were further ahead.
"We are embracing the national curriculum, but this is an add-on. The New Zealand curriculum is heading in the direction of where this programme is already. This is just a bit ahead of it."
Ministry of Education spokesman Vince Cholewa said all schools were autonomous and could offer extra programmes on top of the national curriculum.
"One of the strengths of the New Zealand system is that schools are autonomous. If they think they can add something to the national curriculum that their community wants, then they can."
He said there had been about 6000 submissions on the new draft curriculum - due to be introduced in 2008 - which furthered concepts such as personalised learning and second languages.
Ms Twaddle, who introduced the primary programme at Kristin, a private school in Albany, before moving to the Waiheke Island state primary school two years ago, said its more-global focus was important for students' learning as well as teacher development.
"Having been part of it in an independent school, I was quite passionate about it being part of state education as well ...
It's a programme any school could put into place so I wanted to bring it to a state school to show it was not exclusive."
Ms Twaddle said the Baccalaureate involved learning a second language from an early age - something likely to be introduced in the draft national curriculum which the Government has just finished taking submissions on.
Several secondary schools have cited cost as a reason not to offer the Baccalaureate at secondary level, but Ms Twaddle estimated fees for students at primary level were about $37 a year.
Kristin was the first school to adopt the Baccalaureate primary years programme, to complement its offering of the International Baccalaureate Diploma for its senior students.
Auckland's Diocesan School and Wellington's Queen Margaret College are also introducing it in their primary classes.
Selwyn House School was the first South Island primary school to offer it.
