New Zealand's first green school, set to open in Taranaki next year, has already received more than 400 job applications from teachers worldwide, despite having yet to advertise any.

Leslie Medema, head of learning for Green School Support Office in New Zealand, says the school, which is expected to open in Oakura in February, was well on track.

Leslie has been head of school in Bali for a decade and will spend three months in Taranaki working on the school and its curriculum.

"The curriculum, in some ways in its core, doesn't look that different from what you and I know," she says.

"We believe in using standards, using math, learning English, learning science, but the next level of that is making sure you apply it to the real world in some way and the learning you do is hands-on."

The curriculum will not include the National Certificate of Educational Achievement.

Instead students will have a variety of qualifications open to them with which they can qualify for tertiary education.

They will also be offered the opportunity to opt into international qualifications along the way, depending on their career aspirations.

"There is classroom work. Sometimes you need to think and get warm, but as much as you can do outside, we'll do it."

13031. school will be able to have 500 students from years 1 to 13, but when it opens in February, only three pod-like classrooms will be built, which can hold 85 students. The Bali school also started with three pods and expanded to 64 structures.

"This way the kids actually have a chance to be involved and hands on with creating their campus."

Annual fees start from $12,000 and so far 50 students have completed the full application process, with 26 applying from NZ, six from Australia and 18 internationally. There have been 400 registrations of interest.

And although teacher positions will be advertised in July, more than 420 teachers from around the world have already applied for jobs.

Construction of the campus is now underway, with the roads and driveways will be made from compacted recycled concrete.

The costs of building the school have not been revealed.

Resource teacher of learning and behaviour, Di Hoskin, says she became involved with the school after she visited the Bali campus with fellow teacher Mark Armstrong to learn about the alternative way of learning.

"We've worked in mainstream and worked with students who kind of need an alternative," she says.

"It was really cool because you saw these teachers that were happy because, honestly, there's a lot of burnt-out teachers.

"To see the passion in teachers' eyes again, that was definitely something I wanted to be a part of."

-Stuff.co.nz/Brianna McIlraith.