The Celebrant School in Auckland and Christchurch

This vibrant and professional school provides high quality training and continuing education for celebrants throughout the country. New Zealanders are increasingly using civil celebrants for special occasions in their lives. These milestones include baby naming ceremonies, weddings, civil unions, and funerals. Today, there is much more demand for civil celebrants (eg marriage and funeral celebrants). The public have an increasing expectation about the quality of these celebrants, including that they be trained and professional. They are also wanting people who are warm and genuine, and are committed to designing creative and appropriate ceremonies.

The Celebrant School has been established to provide high quality professional training for civil celebrants. It carries on the excellent training certificate originally developed and taught at AUT University.

The part-time programme in Auckland and Christchurch includes:

• The Certificate in Celebrant Studies
This training is both for those who wish to be professional celebrants, and for those who want to assist their family and friends with life transitions and celebrations. It is also suitable for professionals such as social workers, teachers, counsellors, nurses, etc., who would like to integrate this training into their work, for example by utilising ceremony and ritual for transitions in people's lives. This programme is suitable both for those with no celebrancy experience, and for practicing celebrants who want formal training or who want to explore new dimensions in their work...the new Certificate schedule is out for 2010..read more....

• Celebrant Continuing Education
These programmes enable practicing celebrants to extend and deepen their work with postgraduate papers, master classes and workshops... the new Continuing Education schedule is out for 2010...read more

Mary Hancock
Celebrant School

The Celebrant School under the competent leadership of Mary Hancock, herself an experienced and well-regarded celebrant, offers a professional training certificate for those wishing to become civil celebrants. It provides as well, excellent on-going education for celebrants already working in the community. Such high calibre training is important as increasing numbers of people now want to use civil celebrants.

I am happy to give my support to Mary Hancock and wish the Celebrant School every success.

Hon. Dame Catherine Tizard
ONC, DCMG, GCVO, DBE, QSO.