Associate Education Minister David Seymour has announced a new charter school for athletes, the New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa (NZPAA), set to open in Term 1, 2026 at the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS) in Upper Hutt.

The academy will begin with elite football training delivered with the Wellington Phoenix Football Academy and a rugby union programme. Other sports will be added over time, based on student demand.

Seymour says the school is designed for students who want a professional sporting pathway without dropping their academic education. “Students will no longer have to sacrifice their education in pursuit of sporting dreams, or vice versa,” he said, adding—lightly—that if such a school had existed when he was growing up, he “would have been an All Black.”

According to the Minister, NZPAA will teach a nationally recognised curriculum alongside athletic development. Planned components include leadership, healthy relationships, mental health, and nutrition, supported by flexible timetables, personalised support and access to high-performance facilities at NZCIS.

The academy will operate as a charter school, which Seymour says allows greater flexibility in exchange for stricter accountability. “The charter school equation is: the same funding as state schools, plus greater flexibility plus stricter accountability for results, equals student success.”

The announcement sits within a broader expansion. Three new charter schools were confirmed last week for opening in Term 1, 2026, bringing the total to 15. Seymour said more approvals are expected before the end of the year, including the first state or state-integrated schools to convert to charter status. The Charter School Agency and Authorisation Board considered 52 applications for new schools this year, he said.

Key operational details—such as enrolment process, capacity, selection criteria for sport programmes, and staffing—were not provided today. The Government says more information will follow as the school prepares to open in 2026.