Schools count in census

Pete Hodgson sees international schools census at first hand

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Year 10 pupils from Christchurch's Papanui High School got a helping hand today from the Minister of Statistics Pete Hodgson as they took part in the international children's census; CensusAtSchool.

Pupils from 950 New Zealand Schools are taking part in the project alongside their peers in Great Britain, Canada, South Africa and Australia.

"This is a great way to help make statistics relevant and interesting for young New Zealanders," said Pete Hodgson. "By taking part, they are learning some valuable lesson about maths, information technology, themselves and their peers in other countries."

Participation involves collecting data through a secure on-line survey of the pupils, their schools and what they do. Once the data has been collected, participating classes will be able to download information for use in maths, social science and information technology lessons.

CensusAtSchool is a joint undertaking between Statistics New Zealand, the University of Auckland and the Ministry of Education.

www.stats.govt.nz

ENDS

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