Not every NZ school agrees with the way the Ministry is going with open plan classrooms but you might have to go private to avoid it.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11446451I seem to remember the Catholic Education Office in NSW following a similar open plan approach in recent years. Not sure if it is still the trend of the day.
What was interesting in the article is the distinction made between a student and teacher led approach to learning. Is the massive classroom set up student led because it's impossible to hear the teacher (tongue in cheek but still...)?
