Skip to content
s schoolsnearme.co.nz
Secondary (Year 9-15) · State

Newlands College

68 Bracken Road, Newlands

See all schools in Newlands →

Total roll 1,223
EQI 410
Founded 1970
79

Composite score

Established

B+

Top 25% in NZ

Rank #435 of scored NZ schools

Top 25% in NCEA Level 2

In summary

Newlands College's Board of Trustees attested to meeting all regulatory and legislative requirements in a 2023 ERO board assurance review. The Board Administration and curriculum were confirmed. No composite score is currently available.

Best suited for

Students aged 13-18 in Newlands looking for a state-funded setting with an established ERO profile.

Is Newlands College a good school?

Newlands College scores 79/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Top 25% in NZ nationally. ERO trajectory is improving across recent review cycles. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.

Strengths from the latest ERO report

  • Board has attested compliance across all regulatory and legislative requirement domains

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 92% · L2 88% · UE 65% · bottom quartile of band (n=66) · why?
Mean of latest NCEA Level 1 + Level 2 + UE achievement percentage from Education Counts. Year: 2024. Peer comparison: bottom quartile of band (n=66).
85
Outcomes
25%
Uni 47% · Te Pūkenga 9% · Industry 5% · below 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: below band median (n=64).
60
Retention
15%
90% to Y13 · bottom quartile of band (n=66) · why?
Percentage of the Y9 cohort still enrolled in Y13 (all students). Source: Education Counts retention table. Year: 2024. Peer comparison: bottom quartile of band (n=66).
90
Wellbeing
12%
standdowns 9.3/1k · suspensions 0.0/1k · exclusions 0.0/1k · near band median (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: near band median (n=536).
91
Trajectory
8%
+17.0% roll over 5yr (2020→2025) · top quartile of band (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: top quartile of band (n=534).
71
ERO review
5%
78/100 from ERO review 2016-11 · below 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: 2016. Peer comparison: below band median (n=539).
78

⚠ 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): 78/100.

Latest ERO review

2023-05-10 · Shelley Booysen, ERO

ERO report
  • Board has attested to meeting regulatory and legislative requirements across all key areas
  • Board Administration confirmed
  • Curriculum confirmed
  • Management of Health, Safety and Welfare confirmed
  • Personnel Management confirmed
"As of May 2022, the Newlands College Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements"
— ERO, 2023-05-10 (governance)

Composite score across reviews

2 ERO reviews on file, 2013–2016. Click a point to read that review.

latest 78
0 25 50 75 100 20132016 2013-11-12 · 73/100 2016-11-16 · 78/100

Trajectory across review cycles

Year-over-year change per dimension based on consecutive ERO reviews.

curriculum 70 → 81 (+11)

The curriculum dimension evolved from a focus on targeted teaching using assessment data in specific year groups (2013) to a broader, more inclusive approach emphasizing engagement, progress, and achievement across a wider range of subject options (2016). The 2016 report explicitly states 'The curriculum is effective in promoting learning: engagement, progress and achievement' and notes a 'Broad curriculum reflecting The New Zealand Curriculum with increasing range of subject options,' representing expansion beyond the earlier data-driven targeting model.

2013-11 → 2016-11 diff source

teaching 72 → 80 (+8)

Teaching practice evolved from a focus on targeted use of assessment data (asTTle) in Years 9-10 to a broader, more systematic approach emphasizing strong use of student achievement data across specific groups, collaborative wraparound support systems, and effective monitoring by year group deans. The 2016 report reflects a more comprehensive and distributive model of instructional leadership.

2013-11 → 2016-11 diff source

governance 82 → 75 (-7)

Both reports describe stable governance, but the 2016 report introduces a specific recommendation for improvement. The 2013 report praised the board's 'stable and robust governance' with 'appropriate policies and procedures,' while the 2016 report, though noting 'stable and experienced senior leadership,' explicitly recommends that trustees 'includ[e] more detail in annual targets for priority groups of students' to improve decision-making.

2013-11 → 2016-11 diff source

achievement overall 72 → 78 (+6)

Achievement improved overall, with the score rising from 72 to 78. The 2016 report shows stronger NCEA results 'generally at or above national figures' compared to the 2013 focus on improving merits and excellences at Levels 1 and 2. However, the 2016 report identifies new concerns about inconsistent achievement across student groups, particularly at NCEA Level 3.

2013-11 → 2016-11 diff source

leadership 80 → 82 (+2)

Both reports affirm strong leadership at Newlands College, but the 2016 report emphasizes a more developed and distributive leadership approach. While 2013 praised the senior leadership team's 'cohesive student-centred' guidance, 2016 highlights a 'collaborative and distributive leadership approach' that 'develops a culture of trust and collegiality,' indicating evolution toward more shared leadership responsibility.

2013-11 → 2016-11 diff source

Audited financials

Year ended 2024 · Audit opinion: n/a

Annual report

Total revenue

$16.63M

Surplus / (deficit)

+$340k

Net assets / equity

$4.12M

2 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

91.5%

193 of 211 leavers

-1.5pt vs prior year

NCEA Level 2 · 2024

88.2%

186 of 211 leavers

+3.6pt vs prior year

University Entrance · 2024

65.4%

138 of 211 leavers

+6.5pt 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

90.0%

2024 cohort · 211 students

+7.3pt 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

9.3

18 this year · NZ avg ~37

Suspensions · 2024

0.0

· 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 10
  • Construction and Infrastructure 7
  • Service Industries 3

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

$17.01M

Per-student funding · 2022

$13,912

2018

$7.2M

2019

$7.6M

2020

$8.9M

2021

$12.1M

2022

$17.0M

Roll by year level

July 2025 roll return.

Education Counts
  • Year 09
    254
  • Year 10
    250
  • Year 11
    262
  • Year 12
    246
  • Year 13+
    223

Roll by ethnicity

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

Education Counts
  • European/Pākehā
    51.9%
  • Asian
    42.4%
  • Māori
    11.7%
  • Pacific
    7.6%
  • Other / MELAA
    7.0%
  • International
    2.5%

International students

SIEBA member · Day school only

ESOL support

partial

Location

68 Bracken Road, Newlands. Nearby schools marked in grey.

Open in Google Maps →

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap, © CARTO

Loading Newlands context…

Frequently asked

Is Newlands College a good school?

Newlands College scores 79/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Top 25% in NZ nationally. ERO trajectory is improving across recent review cycles. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.

What does the latest ERO review say?

ERO's 2023-05 review identified 6 key findings. Board has attested to meeting regulatory and legislative requirements across all key areas

How do I enrol my child at Newlands College?

Contact the school directly on 04-4734136, email newcol@newlands.school.nz, or visit www.newlands.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?

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

What is the roll size?

Newlands College has 1,223 students, with an EQI of 410 (lower socio-economic need).

When was the school last reviewed by ERO?

The Education Review Office last reviewed Newlands College in 2023-05, 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

5 cited

Spot an error?

Report a correction

Sourced from

  • ero.govt.nz
  • newlands.school.nz
  • sieba.nz
  • schoolsdata.co.nz
  • crimestats.co.nz