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Best secondary schools in Nelson, Marlborough & West Coast

25 secondary schools ranked by the SchoolsNearMe composite — a 5-axis score (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory) compared against EQI-band peers. Methodology.

Data refreshed from Education Counts 2026-05-27. Schools without enough data to score on the composite are omitted from this page but still appear in the directory.

  1. 1
    Garin College logo
    Garin College

    Richmond · Secondary (Year 9-15) · 626 students · EQI 420–449

    79

    / 100 composite

    View profile →
    Academic
    84
    Outcomes
    64
    Retention
    86
    Wellbeing
    83
    Trajectory
    80
    ERO review
    85
  2. 2
    Nelson College For Girls logo
    Nelson College For Girls

    Nelson · Secondary (Year 9-15) · 921 students · EQI 420–449

    76

    / 100 composite

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    Academic
    80
    Outcomes
    69
    Retention
    84
    Wellbeing
    79
    Trajectory
    60
    ERO review
    68
  3. 3
    Marlborough Girls' College logo
    Marlborough Girls' College

    Springlands · Secondary (Year 9-15) · 923 students · EQI 450–474

    67

    / 100 composite

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    Academic
    79
    Outcomes
    44
    Retention
    80
    Wellbeing
    60
    Trajectory
    55
    ERO review
    89
  4. 4
    Waimea College logo
    Waimea College

    Richmond · Secondary (Year 9-15) · 1,543 students · EQI 420–449

    63

    / 100 composite

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    Academic
    75
    Outcomes
    48
    Retention
    74
    Wellbeing
    54
    Trajectory
    49
    ERO review
    70
  5. 5
    Marlborough Boys' College logo
    Marlborough Boys' College

    Blenheim · Secondary (Year 9-15) · 982 students · EQI 450–474

    62

    / 100 composite

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    Academic
    71
    Outcomes
    47
    Retention
    77
    Wellbeing
    37
    Trajectory
    62
    ERO review
    85
  6. 6
    Golden Bay High School logo
    Golden Bay High School

    Takaka · Secondary (Year 7-15) · 307 students · EQI 450–474

    62

    / 100 composite

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    Academic
    86
    Outcomes
    19
    Retention
    80
    Wellbeing
    72
    Trajectory
    41
    ERO review
    73
  7. 7
    Nayland College logo
    Nayland College

    Stoke · Secondary (Year 9-15) · 1,372 students · EQI 450–474

    60

    / 100 composite

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    Academic
    74
    Outcomes
    42
    Retention
    74
    Wellbeing
    32
    Trajectory
    62
    ERO review
    81
  8. 8
    Nelson College logo
    Nelson College

    Nelson · Secondary (Year 9-15) · 949 students · EQI 420–449

    60

    / 100 composite

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    Academic
    76
    Outcomes
    56
    Retention
    80
    Wellbeing
    0
    Trajectory
    45
    ERO review
    85
  9. 9
    John Paul II High School logo
    John Paul II High School

    Greymouth · Secondary (Year 9-15) · 174 students · EQI 450–474

    60

    / 100 composite

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    Academic
    71
    Outcomes
    24
    Retention
    74
    Wellbeing
    82
    Trajectory
    46
    ERO review
    81
  10. 10
    Karamea Area School logo
    Karamea Area School

    Karamea · Composite · 94 students · EQI 450–474

    59

    / 100 composite

    View profile →
    Academic
    48
    Outcomes
    —
    Retention
    40
    Wellbeing
    100
    Trajectory
    64
    ERO review
    83
View the remaining 15 ranked secondary schools in Nelson, Marlborough & West Coast
  1. 11. Buller High School Westport
    58
  2. 12. Richmond View School Blenheim
    58
  3. 13. TKKM o Tuia te Matangi Richmond
    58
  4. 14. Motueka High School Motueka
    55
  5. 15. Greymouth High School Greymouth
    54
  6. 16. Kaikōura High School Kaikoura
    53
  7. 17. Queen Charlotte College Picton
    51
  8. 18. Westland High School Hokitika
    51
  9. 19. Reefton Area School Reefton
    51
  10. 20. Collingwood Area School Collingwood
    50
  11. 21. Murchison Area School Murchison
    50
  12. 22. Rai Valley Area School Rai Valley
    49
  13. 23. South Westland Area School Harihari
    41
  14. 24. Tapawera Area School Tapawera
    36
  15. 25. Gloriavale Christian School Haupiri
    14

About this ranking

SchoolsNearMe's composite combines five axes — academic achievement, post-school destinations, Y9→Y13 retention, wellbeing (low stand-down rate), and roll trajectory — into a single 0–100 score. The math compares each school against its EQI-band peers (12 bands covering NZ's socio-economic spread), so a school serving more disadvantaged students isn't unfairly penalised against schools serving the most-advantaged.

Schools below 30 students aren't given a rollup score (per-axis data is still on each profile). Schools without composite-eligible data don't appear on this page.

Source data: Education Counts (NCEA, retention, destinations, discipline, funding) · Ministry of Education (roll, EQI, identity).