The Ministry of Education has launched a first-ever ‘principal swap' that saw a Gisborne principal take over a school in Australia.

Steve Berezowski, Principal of Te Wharau School, has swapped places with Tracey Davies, Principal of Richmond Primary School, for the duration of term three.

The initiative is part of the first-ever South Australia/New Zealand Principal Exchange programme,

“This Trans-Tasman principal exchange is the first of its kind and presents a hugely exciting opportunity for both principals to gain practical experience from a different education system and country,” says Education Minister Hekia Parata.

The South Australia/New Zealand Principal Exchange programme was jointly established by the New Zealand Ministry of Education and the South Australian Department for Education and Child Development.

Each year it will enable New Zealand and South Australian principals from schools with similar-sized rolls to exchange schools for a term.

“I'm confident Mr Berezowski and Ms Davies will each tackle the challenges of the exchange with aplomb and return to their schools with new ideas and stronger leadership capability,” Parata says.

“The exchange also provides the chance for the teachers and support staff involved to learn new practices and insights from a highly accomplished foreign principal,” she says.