Queen Elizabeth College
Rangitikei Street, Palmerston North · Taranaki & Manawatū
See all schools in Palmerston North →
Composite score
Developing
Below median
Rank #2,060 of scored NZ schools
In summary
Queen Elizabeth College's 2024 Education Review Office report identified consistency of attendance as a key issue affecting student achievement across all levels, with a need to increase whānau support. The school has strengths including a comprehensive pastoral network, existing attendance initiatives, and the Te Whare Pikiora centre for health and wellbeing support. Composite score: 70.
Best suited for
Students aged 13-18 in Palmerston North looking for a state-funded setting.
Is Queen Elizabeth College a good school?
Queen Elizabeth College scores 45/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Below median nationally. ERO trajectory has declined across recent review cycles. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.
Strengths from the latest ERO report
- A comprehensive and collaborative pastoral network
- Existing attendance initiatives including a Year 10 targeted programme
- Te Whare Pikiora centre providing a responsive approach to health and wellbeing
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.
L1 64% · L2 51% · UE 24% · below band median (n=142) · why? ▼ hide
Uni 1% · Te Pūkenga 6% · Industry 1% · near band median (n=123) · why? ▼ hide
63% to Y13 · below band median (n=166) · why? ▼ hide
standdowns 69.2/1k · suspensions 0.0/1k · exclusions 0.0/1k · below band median (n=539) · why? ▼ hide
+44.5% roll over 5yr (2020→2025) · top quartile of band (n=524) · why? ▼ hide
70/100 from ERO review 2024-06 · below band median (n=544) · why? ▼ hide
⚠ 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): 70/100.
Latest ERO review
2024-06-06 · Shelley Booysen, ERO
- Identified issues around consistency of attendance affecting student achievement
- Low achievement across all levels, often related to attendance
- Identified need to increase whānau support for attendance and learning
- School has comprehensive pastoral network and existing targeted attendance initiatives including Year 10 programme
"Māori students will enjoy educational success as Māori"
Composite score across reviews
2 ERO reviews on file, 2016–2024. Click a point to read that review.
Trajectory across review cycles
Year-over-year change per dimension based on consecutive ERO reviews.
Between 2016 and 2024, Queen Elizabeth College's wellbeing approach shifted from broad proactive priority-setting with extensive external partnerships to a more targeted, responsive model focused on specific health and wellbeing centre provision. While both reports recognize wellbeing as important, the 2024 report emphasizes a comprehensive pastoral network and the Te Whare Pikiora centre's responsive approach, suggesting a consolidation toward specialized internal services rather than the wide external partnership model described in 2016.
2016-11 → 2024-06 diff source
Audited financials
Year ended 2023 · Audit opinion: n/a
Total revenue
$6.51M
Surplus / (deficit)
+$57k
Net assets / equity
$1.13M
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).
NCEA Level 1 · 2024
64.4%
38 of 59 leavers
+0.4pt vs prior year
NCEA Level 2 · 2024
50.8%
30 of 59 leavers
+1.8pt vs prior year
University Entrance · 2024
23.7%
14 of 59 leavers
-4.3pt 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.
62.7%
2024 cohort · 59 students
+6.7pt 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.
Stand-downs · 2024
69.2
36 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).
- Service Industries 1
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.
Total Crown funding · 2022
$4.40M
Per-student funding · 2022
$12,263
2018
$2.9M
2019
$3.5M
2020
$3.8M
2021
$4.0M
2022
$4.4M
Roll by year level
July 2025 roll return.
- Year 07 29
- Year 08 21
- Year 09 83
- Year 10 82
- Year 11 73
- Year 12 51
- Year 13+ 31
Roll by ethnicity
Share of total roll. Students who identify with multiple ethnicities are counted once.
- Māori 57.1%
- European/Pākehā 51.3%
- Pacific 20.3%
- Asian 5.6%
- Other / MELAA 2.2%
- International 1.4%
International students
SIEBA member · Day school only
ESOL support
partial
Years accepted
Years 9-13
Location
Rangitikei Street, Palmerston North. Nearby schools marked in grey.
Map tiles © OpenStreetMap, © CARTO
Schools nearby
Within 15km, sorted by distance. Add any to compare with Queen Elizabeth College.
Central Normal School
Contributing · 0.5km · 492 roll
40
-5 vs this
Palmerston North Boys' High School
Secondary (Year 9-15) · 0.5km · 1,720 roll
71
+26 vs this
Mana Tamariki
Composite · 1km · 74 roll
90
+45 vs this
Russell Street School
Contributing · 1.1km · 367 roll
73
+28 vs this
St Peter's College (Palmerston North)
Secondary (Year 7-15) · 1.4km · 757 roll
75
+30 vs this
Carncot Independent School
Full Primary · 1.5km · 143 roll
78
+33 vs this
Frequently asked
Is Queen Elizabeth College a good school?
Queen Elizabeth College scores 45/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Below median nationally. ERO trajectory has declined across recent review cycles. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.
What does the latest ERO review say?
ERO's 2024-06 review identified 4 key findings. Identified issues around consistency of attendance affecting student achievement
How do I enrol my child at Queen Elizabeth College?
Contact the school directly on 06-3589033, email office@qec.school.nz, or visit www.qec.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?
Queen Elizabeth College is a state school. There is no tuition fee for domestic students; voluntary donations may be requested.
What is the roll size?
Queen Elizabeth College has 359 students, with an EQI of 556 (higher socio-economic need).
When was the school last reviewed by ERO?
The Education Review Office last reviewed Queen Elizabeth College in 2024-06, signed by Shelley Booysen. 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.
Sourced from
- ero.govt.nz
- qec.school.nz
- sieba.nz
- schoolsdata.co.nz
- crimestats.co.nz