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Contributing · State

Firth School

45 Station Road, Matamata · Waikato

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Total roll 252
EQI 511
Founded 1963
64

Composite score

Established

B

Below median

Rank #1,419 of scored NZ schools

In summary

Firth School's Board of Trustees attested to meeting all regulatory and legislative requirements as of August 2022, with board administration and curriculum requirements confirmed as met in the November 2022 board assurance review. No composite score data is currently available for this school.

Best suited for

Students in Matamata looking for a state-funded setting with an established ERO profile.

Is Firth School a good school?

Firth School scores 64/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Below median nationally. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.

Strengths from the latest ERO report

  • An inclusive culture that promotes whanaungatanga, wellbeing and caring relationships
  • Leaders focused on the strategic implementation of identified priorities through the growth of coherent systems and structures
  • The foundations of a systematic approach to ensuring dependable data, information and evidence to inform decision making

Summary derived from ERO reports + audited financials + MoE records. Every claim links to its source — see data transparency at the bottom of this page.

Score breakdown

6 axes, each scored 0–100 on a national absolute scale. As at 2025.

How this is computed
Wellbeing
35%
standdowns 47.5/1k · suspensions 0.0/1k · exclusions 0.0/1k · near band median (n=539) · why?
Composite of stand-downs, suspensions, and exclusions per 1,000 students (lower is better). Formula: standdowns/1k + 2× suspensions/1k + 5× exclusions/1k. Small primary schools with no rows score top of band ("no incidents reported"). Source: Education Counts student engagement. Year: 2024. Peer comparison: near band median (n=539).
53
Trajectory
25%
+16.3% roll over 5yr (2020→2025) · above band median (n=524) · why?
5-year change in total roll. −20% → 0 score, 0% → 50, +20% → 100. Source: Education Counts roll history. Year: 2025. Peer comparison: above band median (n=524).
70
ERO review
40%
71/100 from ERO review 2022-11 · below band median (n=544) · why?
Composite score from the most recent Education Review Office report (Haiku-extracted 0–100 from the published review text). For primary schools this is the heaviest axis (40%) because NCEA-style outcomes data isn't applicable. Source: ERO via Wayback archive. Year: 2022. Peer comparison: below band median (n=544).
71

⚠ Insufficient EQI-band peers (n<10) to compute per-axis percentile context. The score above is absolute; treat it as a single-school read rather than a peer comparison.

Real ERO composite (from the latest review): 71/100.

Latest ERO review

2022-11-04 · Phil Cowie, Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui

ERO report
  • An inclusive culture that promotes whanaungatanga, wellbeing and caring relationships
  • Leaders focused on the strategic implementation of identified priorities through the growth of coherent systems and structures
  • The foundations of a systematic approach to ensuring dependable data, information and evidence to inform decision making
  • A new principal appointed in 2020 with refreshed school strategic plan and direction
  • School strategic priorities focus on partnerships, equity, excellence, and professional capability building
"leaders focused on the strategic implementation of identified priorities through the growth of coherent systems and structures"
— ERO, 2022-11-04 (leadership)

Composite score across reviews

2 ERO reviews on file, 2017–2022. Click a point to read that review.

latest 71
0 25 50 75 100 20172022 2017-06-08 · 81/100 2022-11-04 · 71/100

Discipline (age-standardised, per 1,000 students)

Stand-down = sent home temporarily. Suspension = formal investigation. Exclusion = removed from school. National averages shown for comparison.

Education Counts

Stand-downs · 2024

47.5

4 this year · NZ avg ~37

Suspensions · 2024

0.0

· NZ avg ~5

Exclusions · 2024

0.0

· NZ avg ~1.5

Government funding

Crown funding only (school operations + teacher salaries + property). Excludes locally-raised funds, international fees and trading income — those are in the audited financial report above.

Education Counts

Total Crown funding · 2022

$1.67M

Per-student funding · 2022

$6,645

2018

$1.5M

2019

$1.4M

2020

$1.6M

2021

$1.6M

2022

$1.7M

Roll by year level

July 2025 roll return.

Education Counts
  • Year 01
    38
  • Year 02
    36
  • Year 03
    40
  • Year 04
    37
  • Year 05
    39
  • Year 06
    39
  • Year 07
    7

Roll by ethnicity

Share of total roll. Students who identify with multiple ethnicities are counted once.

Education Counts
  • European/Pākehā
    72.6%
  • Māori
    34.5%
  • Pacific
    10.7%
  • Asian
    9.9%
  • Other / MELAA
    2.0%

Location

45 Station Road, Matamata. Nearby schools marked in grey.

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Frequently asked

Is Firth School a good school?

Firth School scores 64/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Below median nationally. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.

What does the latest ERO review say?

ERO's 2022-11 review identified 5 key findings. An inclusive culture that promotes whanaungatanga, wellbeing and caring relationships

How do I enrol my child at Firth School?

Contact the school directly on 07-8887396, email office@firth.school.nz, or visit www.firth.school.nz. For state schools, check your home address against the school's enrolment zone — some schools are in-zone-only.

What are the fees?

Firth School is a state school. There is no tuition fee for domestic students; voluntary donations may be requested.

What is the roll size?

Firth School has 252 students, with an EQI of 511 (higher socio-economic need).

When was the school last reviewed by ERO?

The Education Review Office last reviewed Firth School in 2022-11, signed by Phil Cowie. 3 ERO reports are on file in our archive.

Data transparency

Every fact on this page links to its source. We never publish a claim without provenance — read our methodology for the full rules.

Last updated

4 Nov 2022

Source documents

3 cited

Spot an error?

Report a correction

Sourced from

  • ero.govt.nz
  • schoolsdata.co.nz
  • crimestats.co.nz