“We researched all the schools in Kerikeri and kept on coming back to the one that was going to cost us the most, great! We had read a newspaper article about Springbank's ‘New Entrant’ teacher and how she had been awarded one of New Zealand’s highest teaching awards, and having read the article believed that this teacher and this school were going to be able to provide my child with the safe, secure, happy, caring schooling environment we were looking for, and thus far we have not been disappointed, at all. Our child has grown into a happy, social, confident little person who is blossoming with her progression and self realisations that she can now read, write, spell, add and subtract. She has only been going to school for two terms!

Our child goes to school happy, cheerful and jolly. I have never ever left her in tears. Quite the opposite in fact, most days I am lucky to get a kiss or a hug from her in her haste to rush off to kiss and hug her teacher!

Knowing that our child is safe, secure and happy in her schooling environment enables us to get on with our respective days, knowing that she is being taught and looked after in a loving, caring, fair and nurturing environment.

Being an only child we were concerned that she may feel ‘lost’ in a larger school. At Springbank she clearly feels ‘at home’. When we walk through the school together it amazes us the way she is confident enough to acknowledge all the children at the school more senior than herself. She is very proud about ‘showing off’ her school to us and we have always found all the Springbank pupils to be very polite, well behaved and accommodating.

We believe the school has a real caring, nurturing family feel about it which I think is achieved with their ‘zero tolerance for bullying’ policy. And at the end of the day I know that my child is going to go to school to learn in an environment that she feels safe, proud and secure in.

Her new entrant teacher knows her children so well that she recognises when ‘her’ children are off colour and does not hesitate to love, care and nurture them until mum or dad is able to pick them up, as it happened to us the other day and the most comforting thing for me was that my child was being loved, nurtured and cared for not only by her teacher but all the staff at the school until I arrived. This was very reassuring and very important to me.

My child recently had a day at school that concerned her a little so I spoke to her teacher who immediately had a quiet word with her and the class and told them that if there are things that they are unsure about, they can call her at home! Things like this I think are outstanding and really prove to me how caring and nurturing Springbank's schooling environment is, especially for the little ones!”

 - Phil and Jill Grimshaw

“We believe that the academic education, which our children are receiving at Springbank, is second to none as evidenced by students’ scores and academic awards.  Our children tell us what they have learned in Mr. Jones’ science class and the intricacies or starting a business based on the teaching of Mrs Chapman.  We enjoy learning the arithmetic shortcuts taught by Mr. Epley and enjoy the strength of the reading and grammar program being taught by Mrs. Alexander.  We have enjoyed watching our sons growing stronger and more able with the help of Mike Warren.  We enjoy watching our sons practice their foreign languages.  And although these things are invaluable, it is really the ungraded parts of their school lives, the parts of their time at Springbank, which are not getting scored and sent home in report cards that mark Springbank as a truly unique and great school.

Teachers greet our children by names.  The children respond positively and politely.  If there is any problem, we are notified by teachers without delay.  The teachers know our children, understand their strengths and weaknesses and can relate to them on a deeply personalized and meaningful level. 

Springbank has a strong community spirit.  As I pass through the campus I am greeted by smiles and pleasant, polite salutations from the students from all ages.  Seeing children playing happily with one another, working together as teams, encouraging one another in sport, these are the marks of Springbank’s true greatness.  A parent need only spend a short time during a lunch period, a class period or morning assembly to appreciate the depth of character in the children of Springbank as a collective.

The children’s positive attitude at Springbank owes a great debt to the environment you have provided for them, an environment where they are free from worries regarding theft or bullying, and an environment where they can rise to their potentials unfettered by derision and ridicule of those who scorn success.  This can be evidenced by the confidence with which students can stand before an audience of nearly 300 people and speak of their accomplishments and goals.

Under your guidance, we have watched our boys mature into young men, who are confident, polite and thoughtful of others.  They are strong physically, emotionally and academically.  We believe that the environment you provide allows each child to excel to their full potential and we can ask little more.”

 - Springbank Parent

“Our son, Ollie, started school in Room 5 (Mrs Larkan’s class) after Easter this year. He has taken to learning and school life like a ‘duck to water’ and his transition into a school environment has been eased with the close, supportive, family atmosphere which is such an integral part of Springbank School’s character. We are constantly amazed at his progress and attribute this to the incredible, fun learning environment that Jacqui has created in Room 5. If you want to give your child the best start in life’s education, choose Springbank School!”

- Louise Huett