Secondary (Year 9-15) · State : Integrated ·Boys School

Rathkeale College

Q: Is Rathkeale College a good school?

Rathkeale College scores 78/100 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.

Q: What does the latest ERO review say?

ERO's 2023-09 review identified 3 key findings. Personalised academic and pastoral support provides learners with pathways to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes at NCEA Level 2

Q: How do I enrol my child at Rathkeale College?

Contact the school directly on 06-3700175, email principal@rathkeale.school.nz, or visit www.rathkeale.school.nz. For state schools, check your home address against the school's enrolment zone — some schools are in-zone-only.

Q: What are the fees?

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

Q: What is the roll size?

Rathkeale College has 322 students, with an EQI of 415 (lower socio-economic need). It is a boys school-only school.

Q: When was the school last reviewed by ERO?

The Education Review Office last reviewed Rathkeale College in 2023-09, signed by Shelley Booysen. 5 ERO reports are on file in our archive.

217 Willow Park Drive, Opaki · Wellington

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Total roll 322

EQI 415

Founded 1964

Composite score

Established

B+

Top 25% in NZ

Rank #515 of scored NZ schools

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Top 5% in NCEA Level 1 Top 10% in NCEA Level 2

Accepts international students (SIEBA member) SIEBA member State-integrated school Boys-only school Secondary school (Secondary (Year 9-15))

In summary

Rathkeale College's 2023 ERO review found that personalised academic and pastoral support helps learners achieve equitable outcomes at NCEA Level 2. The school has developed a culture of respectful relationships and inclusive practices, with early initiatives to strengthen tikanga and te reo Māori in school conditions and practice.

Best suited for

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

Is Rathkeale College a good school?

Rathkeale College scores 78/100 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

Personalised academic and pastoral support provides learners with the pathways they need to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes at NCEA Level 2
A culture of respectful relationships and strengthened schoolwide practices for an increasingly inclusive learning environment
Early initiatives have enhanced school conditions and practices to better reflect tikanga and te reo Māori

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 100% · L2 95% · UE 79% · 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).

Outcomes

25%

Uni 46% · Te Pūkenga 5% · Industry 12% · 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).

Retention

15%

94% to Y13 · near 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: near band median (n=66).

Wellbeing

12%

standdowns 23.8/1k · suspensions 1.6/1k · exclusions 2.1/1k · 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).

Trajectory

-2.4% 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).

ERO review

80/100 from ERO review 2023-09 · near 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: 2023. Peer comparison: near band median (n=539).

⚠ 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): 80/100.

Latest ERO review

2023-09-25 · Shelley Booysen, ERO

ERO report

Personalised academic and pastoral support provides learners with pathways to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes at NCEA Level 2
Culture of respectful relationships and strengthened schoolwide practices for an increasingly inclusive learning environment
Early initiatives have enhanced school conditions and practices to better reflect tikanga and te reo Māori

"the school is welcoming an increasingly diverse student community and aspires to be responsive to all learners' languages, cultures and identities"
— ERO, 2023-09-25 (equity)

Composite score across reviews

2 ERO reviews on file, 2018–2023. Click a point to read that review.

latest 80

Audited financials

Year ended 2020 · Audit opinion: unmodified

Annual report

Total revenue

$6.54M

Surplus / (deficit)

+$270k

Net assets / equity

$0.86M

NCEA achievement

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

Education Counts

NCEA Level 1 · 2024

100.0%

62 of 62 leavers

0.0pt vs prior year

NCEA Level 2 · 2024

95.2%

59 of 62 leavers

-2.9pt vs prior year

University Entrance · 2024

79.0%

49 of 62 leavers

-0.2pt 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

93.5%

2024 cohort · 62 students

-2.7pt 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.

Education Counts

Stand-downs · 2024

23.8

12 this year · NZ avg ~37

Suspensions · 2024

1.6

1 this year · NZ avg ~5

Exclusions · 2024

2.1

1 this year · NZ avg ~1.5

Vocational Pathway Awards

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

Education Counts

Service Industries 7
Creative Industries 4
Social and Community Services 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

$4.82M

Per-student funding · 2022

$14,973

2018

$3.9M

2019

$3.9M

2020

$4.5M

2021

$4.7M

2022

$4.8M

Roll by year level

July 2025 roll return.

Education Counts

Year 09

58
Year 10

67
Year 11

68
Year 12

67
Year 13+

63

Roll by ethnicity

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

Education Counts

European/Pākehā

84.5%
Māori

14.0%
Asian

8.4%
International

4.3%
Pacific

3.1%
Other / MELAA

1.2%

International students

SIEBA member · Day school only

Location

217 Willow Park Drive, Opaki. Nearby schools marked in grey.

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Frequently asked

Is Rathkeale College a good school?

What does the latest ERO review say?

ERO's 2023-09 review identified 3 key findings. Personalised academic and pastoral support provides learners with pathways to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes at NCEA Level 2

How do I enrol my child at Rathkeale College?

Contact the school directly on 06-3700175, email principal@rathkeale.school.nz, or visit www.rathkeale.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?

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

What is the roll size?

Rathkeale College has 322 students, with an EQI of 415 (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 Rathkeale College in 2023-09, 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

25 Sept 2023

Source documents

5 cited

Spot an error?

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Sourced from

ero.govt.nz
web.archive.org
sieba.nz
schoolsdata.co.nz
crimestats.co.nz