Tamariki School

Story

Tamariki is the oldest ‘free school’ in New Zealand and one of the oldest in the world. It was founded in 1966 by a group of parents and teachers interested in preventative mental health. It is located in the Christchurch suburb of Linwood.Its name is the Māori word for young children.Special CharacterMistakes are regarded as important learning information and grading is never done. No adult has the right to demand to see the child’s work and such access is always under the child’s control. The children also have a very large measure of control over the environment; the adults in the school defer their need for a tidy environment to the child’s need to experience cause and effect; to experience why order is desirable.The school is loosely modelled on Summerhill School.Originally a private school, owned and operated by the parents, Tamariki integrated into the state system as a Special Character school in 1990.