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Secondary (Year 7-15) · State : Integrated ·Boys School

Liston College

69 Rathgar Road, Henderson · Auckland — North

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Total roll 838
EQI 414
Founded 1974
81

Composite score

Strong

A

Top 25% in NZ

Rank #328 of scored NZ schools

Top 10% in University Entrance Top 10% in NCEA Level 2

In summary

Liston College received a regular ERO review in November 2024. The review found almost all students achieve NCEA Levels 1 to 3, with nearly all Year 13 students gaining University Entrance. Strategic leadership is highly effective in sustaining outcomes for all learners, supported by robust evidence-based evaluation. Students report strong belonging in an inclusive, respectful community where language, culture and identity are valued.

Best suited for

Students aged 13-18 in Henderson looking for a state-funded setting with a strong recent ERO trajectory.

Is Liston College a good school?

Liston College scores 81/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Top 25% in NZ nationally. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.

Strengths from the latest ERO report

  • Leaders set and relentlessly pursue coherent, student-centred improvement goals that explicitly align with the school's values.
  • Leaders use a range of robust evidence to evaluate and report on initiatives that improve learner outcomes and wellbeing.
  • Students experience a calm and orderly environment underpinned by structured, well-prepared lessons and high expectations for achievement and personal progress.

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
Academic
35%
L1 98% · L2 95% · UE 90% · above band median (n=66) · why?
Mean of latest NCEA Level 1 + Level 2 + UE achievement percentage from Education Counts. Year: 2024. Peer comparison: above band median (n=66).
95
Outcomes
25%
Uni 48% · Te Pūkenga 11% · Industry 12% · above band median (n=64) · why?
Share of leavers going to a New Zealand university + Te Pūkenga + Industry Training (capped at 100%). Counts are normalised when EC publishes raw cohort sizes instead of percentages. Source: Education Counts post-school destinations. Year: 2025. Peer comparison: above band median (n=64).
71
Retention
15%
95% to Y13 · above band median (n=66) · why?
Percentage of the Y9 cohort still enrolled in Y13 (all students). Source: Education Counts retention table. Year: 2024. Peer comparison: above band median (n=66).
95
Wellbeing
12%
standdowns 30.5/1k · suspensions 1.4/1k · exclusions 0.0/1k · bottom quartile of band (n=536) · 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: bottom quartile of band (n=536).
67
Trajectory
8%
+0.0% roll over 5yr (2020→2025) · near band median (n=534) · why?
5-year change in total roll. −20% → 0 score, 0% → 50, +20% → 100. Source: Education Counts roll history. Year: 2025. Peer comparison: near band median (n=534).
50
ERO review
5%
84/100 from ERO review 2024-11 · above band median (n=539) · 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: 2024. Peer comparison: above band median (n=539).
84

⚠ 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): 84/100.

Latest ERO review

2024-11-19 · Shelley Booysen, ERO

ERO report
  • Achievement information overtime shows almost all students achieve at National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Levels 1 to 3; almost all Year 13 students achieve University Entrance.
  • Highly effective strategic leadership ensures teaching, learning and school systems sustain excellent outcomes for all students.
  • Learners have a strong sense of belonging and benefit from an inclusive and mutually respectful school community where their language, culture and identity are valued.
  • Most students attend regularly; the school is exceeding the Ministry of Education targets.
  • Teachers and leaders are taking deliberate steps to integrate mātauranga Māori and te reo Māori more consistently throughout the curriculum to enhance learning opportunities.
"Highly effective strategic leadership ensures teaching, learning and school systems sustain excellent outcomes for all students."
— ERO, 2024-11-19 (leadership)

Composite score across reviews

4 ERO reviews on file, 2015–2024. Click a point to read that review.

latest 85
0 25 50 75 100 2015201820242024 2015-05-25 · 78/100 2018-05-14 · 83/100 2024-11-19 · 84/100 2024-11-19 · 85/100

Audited financials

Year ended 2024 · Audit opinion: n/a

Annual report

Total revenue

$11.33M

Surplus / (deficit)

+$355k

Net assets / equity

$1.65M

3 years of audited data on file · View full history (Pro)

NCEA achievement

School leavers with NCEA at each level. National average is ~85% (Level 1).

Education Counts

NCEA Level 1 · 2024

98.2%

107 of 109 leavers

+0.1pt vs prior year

NCEA Level 2 · 2024

95.4%

104 of 109 leavers

+3.2pt vs prior year

University Entrance · 2024

89.9%

98 of 109 leavers

+6.4pt vs prior year

Data: Ministry of Education / Education Counts, CC-BY-4.0

Stay-on rate

Percentage of students who stay at school until at least their 17th birthday — the standard NZ proxy for Year-9-to-Year-13 retention.

Education Counts

94.5%

2024 cohort · 109 students

-0.6pt vs 2023

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

30.5

38 this year · NZ avg ~37

Suspensions · 2024

1.4

2 this year · NZ avg ~5

Exclusions · 2024

0.0

· NZ avg ~1.5

Vocational Pathway Awards

School leavers achieving Vocational Pathway Awards by industry sector (2024).

Education Counts
  • Creative Industries 3
  • Service Industries 2
  • Manufacturing and Technology 2

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

$6.84M

Per-student funding · 2022

$8,164

2018

$5.9M

2019

$5.9M

2020

$6.6M

2021

$6.6M

2022

$6.8M

Roll by year level

July 2025 roll return.

Education Counts
  • Year 07
    113
  • Year 08
    120
  • Year 09
    127
  • Year 10
    117
  • Year 11
    128
  • Year 12
    110
  • Year 13+
    124

Roll by ethnicity

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

Education Counts
  • European/Pākehā
    45.3%
  • Asian
    36.5%
  • Pacific
    28.3%
  • Māori
    11.0%
  • Other / MELAA
    6.3%
  • International
    2.1%

International students

SIEBA member · Day school only

Years accepted

Year 7 to Year 13

Location

69 Rathgar Road, Henderson. Nearby schools marked in grey.

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Frequently asked

Is Liston College a good school?

Liston College scores 81/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Top 25% in NZ nationally. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.

What does the latest ERO review say?

ERO's 2024-11 review identified 5 key findings. Achievement information overtime shows almost all students achieve at National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Levels 1 to 3; almost all Year 13 students achieve University Entrance.

How do I enrol my child at Liston College?

Contact the school directly on 09-8389350, email nicki.packer@liston.school.nz, or visit www.liston.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?

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

What is the roll size?

Liston College has 838 students, with an EQI of 414 (lower socio-economic need). It is a boys school-only school.

When was the school last reviewed by ERO?

The Education Review Office last reviewed Liston College in 2024-11, signed by Shelley Booysen. 5 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

31 Dec 2024

Source documents

6 cited

Spot an error?

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Sourced from

  • ero.govt.nz
  • liston2025.ibcdn.nz
  • sieba.nz
  • schoolsdata.co.nz
  • liston.school.nz
  • crimestats.co.nz