A solitary figure stands on a ridgeline above Lake Wanaka at dawn, looking out across the mountains of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Fernway Global · Aotearoa New Zealand

The next step into a bigger world.

Immersive New Zealand experiences for international students, athletes and future leaders — built around belonging, safety, and the confidence to thrive.

Explore programmes The Fernway Journey

Most international programmes begin with a flight.
Fernway begins with belonging.

We design end-to-end pathways into authentic New Zealand experiences — combining education, culture, adventure, sport, friendship and wellbeing — so people don't just visit Aotearoa, they arrive with confidence, belong deeply, and continue to thrive long after they return home.

Our Programmes

Four ways to experience New Zealand.

Each programme is built around the same principles — pastoral care, real-world English, cultural connection — and tailored to a different reason for coming. Choose where your journey begins.

School Immersion

A safer, structured pathway to study in New Zealand.

Students attend a local Kiwi school, paired with a prepared buddy in the same class. They live with carefully selected homestay families, follow a workbook tailored to their English level, and join supervised cultural and outdoor activities — with parents kept in the loop through our companion app.

  • Buddy-supported classroom integration
  • Accredited homestay accommodation
  • Level-aligned Fernway Explorer workbooks
  • Pastoral oversight & supervised activities
Explore School Immersion →

Innovation Camps

Learn through adventure.

Themed short-term camps where international and Kiwi students live, learn and explore together. English is embedded through participation, not memorisation — in Space Camp, AgriTech Camp, Marine Camp, Green Futures and Creator Camp.

  • Themed weeks: space, marine, agritech, sustainability, creative
  • Dormitory accommodation with full supervision
  • Mixed cohorts of international & New Zealand students
  • Real-world projects with Kiwi mentors
Explore Innovation Camps →

Sports Pathways

Train. Belong. Thrive.

For athletes transitioning into New Zealand life. Three stages of structured support — readiness, settling, and thriving — covering pre-departure English, visa guidance, housing, employment, coaching connections and competition pathways.

  • Pre-departure English & sport-specific language coaching
  • Visa, financial literacy & settling support
  • Housing, employment & community integration
  • Coaching pathways & competition introductions
Explore Sports Pathways →

Fernway Connect

Peace of mind for parents. Independence for students.

Our all-in-one companion app keeps students, homestays, schools and parents connected — with live journey updates, translated messaging, itineraries, journals and emergency support. Designed so families never feel out of the loop.

  • Live updates, photos & notifications for parents
  • Built-in translation across the whānau
  • Itineraries, journals & buddy messaging for students
  • Direct channels for homestays and schools
See the app →
The Fernway Journey

Six stages. One transformation.

A real transformation isn't a trip. It's a sequence — from the first hello online, to the moment a student returns home different. Each waypoint below is a stage of the Fernway journey.

1 CONNECT 2 PREPARE 3 ARRIVE 4 BELONG 5 THRIVE 6 CONTINUE
Stage 01

Connect

The journey begins with a relationship — often through our online programme, Learn English Live. A first hello becomes a friendship.

Stage 02

Prepare

English assessment, classroom matching, cultural orientation, family briefing. By the time the plane takes off, nothing about arrival is unfamiliar.

Stage 03

Arrive

A Kiwi buddy ready in the same classroom. A homestay that's already been briefed. A first day that feels like it was prepared for them.

Stage 04

Belong

English used in real situations — meals, sport, weekends, shopping, conversations. Confidence stops being a goal and starts being a habit.

Stage 05

Thrive

Friendships deepen. Comfort zones widen. Reflection workbooks capture what's changing inside, not just what's being seen outside.

Stage 06

Continue

Returning home isn't the end. Buddy friendships endure through the app, the door stays open for the next visit, and a wider world stays in reach.

Why parents choose Fernway

The reassurance behind every decision.

Sending a child overseas is one of the hardest decisions a family ever makes. Everything we build — from the workbooks, to the buddy briefings, to the companion app — exists to make that decision easier to live with.

i.

Pastoral oversight

Accredited homestays, scheduled check-ins, supervisor support throughout the programme, and clear escalation processes if anything is needed urgently.

ii.

Buddy preparation

Every visiting student is paired with a prepared New Zealand buddy. Classrooms are introduced to Korean (or other home) culture before arrival, so belonging starts on day one.

iii.

Real-world English

English is built through doing, not memorising — in class, at the table, on weekend trips, through workbook tasks calibrated to TOEIC, TOEFL or Oxford English levels.

iv.

Translation support

Fernway Connect translates messaging between parents, students, homestays and schools — so language is never a barrier to understanding what's happening on the ground.

v.

Visible itineraries

Parents see daily schedules, photos and updates in real time — not summarised weekly emails. Trust is built through transparency, not testimonials.

vi.

Policies you can read

Our full safety, supervision and incident-response documentation is available to families on request. No mystery, no fine print buried elsewhere.

Fernway Connect — the companion app

Peace of mind, in your pocket.

A single app that ties the whole experience together — for parents at home, students in class, homestays in the kitchen, and schools in the office. Built to make distance feel smaller.

  • For parents Live updates, photos, notifications, translated messaging, and emergency contacts — visible 24/7.
  • For students Daily itineraries, journals, packing lists, group updates, and direct messaging to buddies and homestays.
  • For homestays Schedule visibility and translated communication, so welcome stays warm even when language isn't shared.
  • For schools Broadcast updates, alerts, and incident support — coordinated through one channel.

Explore Fernway Connect →

Voices from the journey

What stays with them.

The most memorable moments rarely happen at the famous places visited — they happen at the kitchen table, on the school bus, in the changing room before the game. These are some of the moments families have shared with us.

The first week she was quiet. By the third she came home telling jokes in English. We didn't push her — the buddy just kept inviting her in.
Eunji's mother Seoul, Korea
I didn't realise how much I'd grown until I got home and my friends asked me the same question three times before I understood — I'd been thinking in English.
Hiro, age 14 Tokyo, returned 2025
What sold us wasn't the brochure. It was that we could see the day, every day, on the app — and she looked happy in every photo.
A father, Auckland host Returning host family
Learn English Live world map showing live classroom connections from New Zealand to partner countries including Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Germany, Italy and the Cook Islands.
Learn English Live
A sister brand

From digital friendships to real-world adventures.

Many Fernway journeys don't begin in New Zealand. They begin online — in a classroom exchange through our sister brand, Learn English Live, where students meet their first international friends. Months later, that person on the screen becomes the buddy at the school gate.

Connection first. Then country.

Explore Learn English Live →

The journey that changes who they become.

Whether you're a parent considering a first visit, a school exploring partnership, an organisation planning a programme, or a student looking to travel to New Zealand — we'd love to hear from you.

Register interest → Email us directly