The first charter school application to join the state system has been approved by the government.

Photo: SUPPLIED

From next year, Vanguard Military School in Albany, Auckland, will be a designated character school with a board of trustees.

Education minister Chris Hipkins said the school had demonstrated it would provide an education significantly different from that available at other state schools.

He had also begun the formal process of cancelling the contracts for all 11 charter schools by the end of the year, he said.

The government introduced legislation earlier this year to prevent new charter schools opening.

The move has drawn criticism from some people associated with the schools, along with Act leader David Seymour, who championed their establishment.

About 100 students, parents, and teachers protested against the schools' closures in February.

Mr Hipkins has previously said each of the 11 schools could apply to become a different type of school, rather than shutting their doors.