Tauranga may get a third private school as early as next year with Academic Colleges Group looking to build its first education facility away from Auckland and Asia.

The new school planned for Pyes Pa.

The NZ-based independent school group is awaiting consent to begin building a new school on a former Pyes Pa kiwifruit orchard.

The ACG group recently bought 14ha of land on the corner of Keenan Rd and Pyes Pa Rd for the development of an independent school offering education from Year 1-6 at first, with the school roll growing in two-year increments after that.

Unlike the other two private schools in Tauranga, the ACG group is secular, says ACG group director of marketing Kim Harase.

'It will be an independent secular school, co-educational; and of course we are still working out the details of the curriculum. But we will be offering the Cambridge International Curriculum, as we do in our Auckland schools,” says Kim.

Subject to successful and timely consent applications, the ACG group hopes to open for students in January or the first week of February next year, offering schooling for primary students, with the school expected to expand afterwards, by one or two-year intervals.

'We are receiving inquiries already that we will be communication with. We've had some very positive interests from families in the area,” says Kim, who says the school's catchment includes Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty townships.

'We hope to reach families in Rotorua as well,” says Kim. 'There are many details to be worked out.”

The ACG Group's first school opened in Auckland in 1994. The group now has five schools in the Auckland region and two international schools in Asia.

'We are very excited to be extending our schools into the Bay of Plenty and are hoping to open in January 2014, depending on council consent processes,” says ACG's CEO Ian King.

'ACG offers excellent quality education through the highly regarded Cambridge International Examination programme,” says Ian.

'The ACG Schools in Auckland regularly feature amongst the top New Zealand Cambridge schools, and a number of our students have gained recognition as Top in New Zealand and Top in the World for their academic successes.

'Part of our success lies in our ethos, which is based on nurturing positive student attitudes and commitment to wholehearted learning. Our schools promote values of scholarship, acceptance of diversity, international understanding and creativity.”