Sawyers Bay School
99 Stevenson Avenue, Sawyers Bay · Otago & Southland
See all schools in Sawyers Bay →
Composite score
Established
Above median
Rank #1,148 of scored NZ schools
In summary
Sawyers Bay School is a contributing primary school located in Port Chalmers with 109 students. An ERO review in July 2022 found the school focuses on knowing individual students well and has strong learner-focused relationships with whānau and community, supported by a capable teaching team with high expectations. The review also identified that some students have historical barriers to learning that have not yet responded well to acceleration efforts.
Best suited for
Students in Sawyers Bay looking for a state-funded setting with an established ERO profile.
Is Sawyers Bay School a good school?
Sawyers Bay School scores 70/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Above median nationally. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.
Strengths from the latest ERO report
- Positive learner-focused relationships with whānau and community
- Relevant professional development focuses to support the continual improvement of teacher practice
- Highly capable teaching team that prioritises the needs of students
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.
ERO review not in our dataset
We don't yet have a parsed ERO composite for Sawyers Bay School, so the ERO axis below uses the national-average ERO score (75/100) as a placeholder. The composite shown above incorporates that estimate. When we ingest a real ERO review for this school, the score will refresh and may move materially in either direction.
If you've spotted a recent ERO report we've missed, let us know — every flagged report gets re-ingested on the next refresh.
standdowns 0.0/1k · suspensions 0.0/1k · exclusions 0.0/1k · top 10% of band (n=518) · why? ▼ hide
-23.8% roll over 5yr (2020→2025) · bottom quartile of band (n=515) · why? ▼ hide
75/100 — national average (no ERO review in our dataset) · below band median (n=520) · 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.
Latest ERO review
2022-07-12 · Dr Lesley Patterson, Southern Region | Te Tai Tini
- School focuses on knowing individual students well to meet their learning needs
- A cohort of students have historical barriers to learning and haven't responded well to efforts to accelerate progress
- Teachers have high expectations and want all students to achieve well
- ERO and school are working together to evaluate the effectiveness of literacy curriculum in raising at-risk students' achievement
"ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effective the school's literacy curriculum is in raising at-risk students' achievement and providing equitable opportunities to learn."
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
0.0
· 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.
Total Crown funding · 2022
$0.99M
Per-student funding · 2022
$9,106
2018
$0.9M
2019
$0.8M
2020
$1.0M
2021
$1.0M
2022
$1.0M
Roll by year level
July 2025 roll return.
- Year 01 11
- Year 02 21
- Year 03 16
- Year 04 17
- Year 05 18
- Year 06 15
- Year 07 1
Roll by ethnicity
Share of total roll. Students who identify with multiple ethnicities are counted once.
- European/Pākehā 91.7%
- Māori 17.4%
- Pacific 3.7%
- Asian 2.8%
Location
99 Stevenson Avenue, Sawyers Bay. Nearby schools marked in grey.
Map tiles © OpenStreetMap, © CARTO
Schools nearby
Within 15km, sorted by distance. Add any to compare with Sawyers Bay School.
Port Chalmers School
Full Primary · 1.3km · 101 roll
41
-29 vs this
- no score yet
St Leonard's School (Dunedin)
Contributing · 3.5km · 9 roll
- no score yet
Broad Bay School
Full Primary · 3.6km · 25 roll
Portobello School
Full Primary · 4.8km · 61 roll
44
-26 vs this
Dunedin Rudolf Steiner School
Full Primary · 5.2km · 84 roll
77
+7 vs this
Macandrew Bay School
Contributing · 5.6km · 140 roll
76
+6 vs this
Frequently asked
Is Sawyers Bay School a good school?
Sawyers Bay School scores 70/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Above median nationally. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.
What does the latest ERO review say?
ERO's 2022-07 review identified 4 key findings. School focuses on knowing individual students well to meet their learning needs
How do I enrol my child at Sawyers Bay School?
Contact the school directly on 03-472 8981, email office@sawyersbay.school.nz, or visit www.sawyersbay.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?
Sawyers Bay School is a state school. There is no tuition fee for domestic students; voluntary donations may be requested.
What is the roll size?
Sawyers Bay School has 109 students, with an EQI of 432 (mid-range socio-economic context).
When was the school last reviewed by ERO?
The Education Review Office last reviewed Sawyers Bay School in 2022-07, signed by Dr Lesley Patterson. 2 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
- schoolsdata.co.nz
- crimestats.co.nz