This guide answers the questions international families ask most about King’s College（国王学院）: what kind of school it is, which programmes it offers, who can apply, what it costs, and how the application works. Every fact below comes from the school’s official website, checked on 6 August 2026. Where the website does not publish a figure, we say so rather than fill in a number from memory. Fees, deadlines and places change from year to year, so always confirm against the latest version of the official website.
About King’s College: an independent Auckland secondary school
King’s Collegedescribes itself on its homepage as an independent secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand, founded in 1896. The school’s stated purpose, carried from its founding headmaster’s quote, is to provide “the best all-round education it is possible to obtain”, and the website says the same principle still motivates the school today. It is an Anglican-based school, and its current site is in Ōtāhuhu, with the campus address listed as 41 Golf Avenue, Otahuhu, Auckland 1062. Two admission facts matter most for planning: the main intake years are Year 9 for boys and Year 11 for girls, and the website notes that demand for places is high and encourages families to apply early. Boys have attended King’s College since it was founded in 1896, while girls have been part of the school community for more than four decades.
Academic programmes: the NCEA and Cambridge dual pathway
King’s Collegeruns a dual qualification system: students work towards either the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) or Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), and the website states that both pathways lead to University Entrance. The difference is mainly in assessment style — Cambridge is examination-based, with grades and a percentage mark awarded at the end of each course, while NCEA combines internal standards assessed during the year with external standards at the end. The school presents the two pathways as equally valid and encourages students to match their preferred assessment style to the path they choose. Years 9 and 10 form the Junior School, where students build a broad academic foundation; Years 11 to 13 form the Senior School. In Year 11, all students follow the school’s bespoke Year 11 Academic Programme, designed by King’s College staff to prepare students for NCEA Level 2 and Cambridge AS courses. Two practical rules are worth noting: a student mixing CIE and NCEA courses must gain University Entrance from one pathway only, and New Zealand universities calculate entry from either the best six CIE AS/A Level grades or the best 80 NCEA Level 3 credits — never a combined total. The website also advises that international students are required to achieve higher rank scores than New Zealand students.
Entry requirements for international students
King’s Collegeaccepts a limited number of overseas students in Years 9 to 12, and international students are integrated into all regular classes. The website requires “a satisfactory level of the English language, both written and spoken”, but publishes no single minimum test score. Entry year rules are firm: boys can start at Year 9 and girls at Year 11; students normally enter at Year 9, though entry above Year 9 is possible when places are available. A minimum commitment of two years at the College is required, so direct entry to Year 13 is not possible. International students who intend to study Cambridge examinations in Years 12 and 13 must first have completed IGCSE in Year 11. The school is a signatory to the New Zealand Ministry of Education Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students. For a student visa, the website lists: a letter of offer from a New Zealand school, evidence of sufficient family funds, proof that full fees for one year have been paid in advance, written guarantees of accommodation (a boarding place or homestay), and medical and travel insurance. An overseas student who boards must have a guardian or relative living in the greater Auckland region; families can arrange this privately or the school’s international department can help assign one. Student visa holders must carry medical and travel insurance covering their time at the College, and details must be lodged with the Head of Admissions.
Application process and timing
The application process at King’s Collegeis set out in six steps on the website: submit the online international admissions application, assessment by the International Recruitment Manager, a Zoom or in-person interview, entrance and classification testing, a place being offered, and acceptance of the place. Once a place is offered, parents or guardians have seven days to indicate acceptance; in some cases applicants are placed on a waiting list. There is a non-refundable application fee of NZ$350. The website stresses that submitting an application does not guarantee a place and that early application is advisable given demand. For orientation, the school runs an Orientation Day on the first day of Term 1 for all new students, plus a separate event designed for new international students around a week later, and the International Department meets each new international student one-on-one during Term 1. Term dates for the 2026 school year are: Term 1, 29 January to 2 April; Term 2, 20 April to 3 July; Term 3, 27 July to 25 September; Term 4, 12 October to 3 December.
Fees and costs: the 2027 international schedule
King’s Collegepublishes a specific international fee schedule, effective for enrolments received from January 2027 to December 2027 (2027-01 to 2027-12). Tuition is NZD 57,000, boarding is NZD 20,500, and the two together total NZD 77,500. A homestay option is offered at NZD 420 per week, with an additional placement fee if a professional accommodation agent is required. Other costs are: a non-refundable application fee of NZD 350, an enrolment acceptance fee of NZD 1,700 payable once a place is accepted, and an incidentals fee of NZD 6,000 covering uniform (NZD 1,500), classroom expenses and trips (NZD 2,000), the Friends subscription (NZD 50), insurance (NZD 700, varying at the time of purchase), and music and sport expenses (NZD 1,000), with exam fees charged separately; the incidentals fee does not include stationery or student visa processing. Annual fees must be paid by electronic transfer or credit card by 30 November of the preceding year, which also satisfies the immigration requirement that full fees for one year be paid in advance. A student leaving before the end of the Year 13 programme must give a full term’s notice, and the College refunds prepaid fees covering the time the student is no longer enrolled.
Boarding, homestay and student life
King’s Collegedescribes its boarding community as one of the largest in Aotearoa, with boarding part of the school since it opened. There are three boys’ boarding houses — School, St John’s and Selwyn — plus Te Pūtake Lodge, a specialist house that supports Year 9 boys as they start boarding. The girls’ boarding house is Middlemore House, catering for Years 11, 12 and 13, with separate common rooms for each year level. Each house has a resident Housemaster, boarding House Tutors, a House Manager and Teacher Mentors, and the on-site health centre, Te Puna Whaiora, offers a 24-hour, 7-day service for boarding students. International students can choose between boarding and homestay: boys can board at all year levels, and girls from Year 11 to 13 depending on availability; homestay families come from within the King’s community and are carefully selected. All students join a King’s House from their first day, which is how the school says international students are integrated and supported. Boarders follow a structured day — house duties and breakfast from around 7am, the first period at 8.40am, a weekly house chapel service, sports or cultural practice after school, and evening prep before year-level lights-out — with weekends a mix of organised activities, sport and free time.
Scholarships and financial support
King’s Collegeoffers a range of scholarships and bursaries, most funded by members of the school community, and all scholarship applicants must also complete an admission application with a full student CV. Highlights from the website’s 2027 cycle: three academic scholarships for Year 9 entry, each providing NZD 5,000 toward tuition for five years, awarded on performance in the College’s scholarship examinations (with a NZD 100 processing fee for sitting the exam); music scholarships providing NZD 5,000 per year for five years for students at Grade 4 or higher on one or more instruments, selected by audition; four sports scholarships of NZD 5,000 a year, open at any entry level; and the Peter and Joanna Masfen Scholarships, two per year, covering 50% of academic tuition for an all-rounder day student starting at Year 9 (boy) or Year 11 (girl). General scholarship applications for 2027 closed at 4pm on 1 April 2026, and music scholarship applications closed in early March 2026, so the next cycle’s dates should be checked on the website. Some named scholarships are not offered every year, and awards are subject to annual review.
Application support from our advisers
Applying to King’s Collegeinvolves several interlocking decisions — matching the child’s year level and English level to the entry rules, planning the two-year commitment, the IGCSE prerequisite for the Cambridge route, the fee payment schedule, and boarding or homestay with the guardian arrangement in Auckland. Our advisers can work through each of these against the latest official information, build a checklist of materials, and lay out the application timeline and budget so the family knows what happens at each step. Fees and deadlines above are from the official website as of 6 August 2026 and may change; always confirm current figures on the school’s official website before making decisions.