South Westland Area School
75 Wanganui Flat Road, Harihari · Nelson, Marlborough & West Coast
Composite score
Developing
Below median
Rank #2,188 of scored NZ schools
Active MoE intervention — limited statutory manager
A limited statutory manager has been appointed to South Westland Area School as of 2021-07-09. NZ Gazette notice
In summary
South Westland Area School is a composite school serving 137 students in Harihari. A board assurance review in March 2025 confirmed the board has met regulatory and legislative requirements, board administration requirements, and curriculum requirements as of November 2024. The school is currently subject to a limited statutory manager intervention by the Ministry of Education.
Best suited for
Students all year levels (Year 1-13) in Harihari looking for a state-funded setting.
Is South Westland Area School a good school?
South Westland Area School is currently under MoE intervention — a limited statutory manager has been appointed. The school's day-to-day teaching continues; the intervention addresses governance or operational concerns identified by the Ministry. Read the NZ Gazette notice for details.
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 70% · L2 50% · UE 0% · bottom quartile of band (n=109) · why? ▼ hide
Uni 3% · Te Pūkenga 0% · Industry 0% · bottom 10% of band (n=102) · why? ▼ hide
40% to Y13 · bottom 10% of band (n=115) · why? ▼ hide
standdowns 36.7/1k · suspensions 0.0/1k · exclusions 0.0/1k · near band median (n=468) · why? ▼ hide
+23.6% roll over 5yr (2020→2025) · top quartile of band (n=469) · why? ▼ hide
64/100 from ERO review 2025-03 · bottom quartile of band (n=471) · 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): 64/100.
Latest ERO review
2025-03-11 · Sharon Kelly, ERO
- Board has attested to meeting regulatory and legislative requirements as of November 2024
- Board Administration requirements confirmed
- Curriculum requirements confirmed
- Management of Health, Safety and Welfare requirements confirmed
- Personnel Management, Finance, and Assets requirements confirmed
"As of November 2024, the South Westland Area School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements"
Audited financials
Year ended 2024 · Audit opinion: n/a
Total revenue
$3.19M
Surplus / (deficit)
$45k
Net assets / equity
$1.24M
NCEA achievement
School leavers with NCEA at each level. National average is ~85% (Level 1).
NCEA Level 1 · 2024
70.0%
7 of 10 leavers
-18.9pt vs prior year
NCEA Level 2 · 2024
50.0%
5 of 10 leavers
-27.8pt vs prior year
University Entrance · 2024
0.0%
0 of 10 leavers
-44.4pt 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.
40.0%
2024 cohort · 10 students
-60.0pt 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
36.7
6 this year · 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
$2.86M
Per-student funding · 2022
$20,875
2018
$1.7M
2019
$1.8M
2020
$1.9M
2021
$2.2M
2022
$2.9M
Roll by year level
July 2025 roll return.
- Year 01 3
- Year 02 4
- Year 03 12
- Year 04 6
- Year 05 6
- Year 06 10
- Year 07 8
- Year 08 7
- Year 09 25
- Year 10 12
- Year 11 13
- Year 12 8
- Year 13+ 22
Roll by ethnicity
Share of total roll. Students who identify with multiple ethnicities are counted once.
- European/Pākehā 77.4%
- Māori 19.0%
- Asian 10.2%
- Pacific 6.6%
Location
75 Wanganui Flat Road, Harihari. Nearby schools marked in grey.
Map tiles © OpenStreetMap, © CARTO
Frequently asked
Is South Westland Area School a good school?
South Westland Area School is currently under MoE intervention — a limited statutory manager has been appointed. The school's day-to-day teaching continues; the intervention addresses governance or operational concerns identified by the Ministry. Read the NZ Gazette notice for details.
What does the latest ERO review say?
ERO's 2025-03 review identified 5 key findings. Board has attested to meeting regulatory and legislative requirements as of November 2024
How do I enrol my child at South Westland Area School?
Contact the school directly on 03-7533160, email office@swas.ac.nz, or visit www.southwestlandarea.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?
South Westland Area School is a state school. There is no tuition fee for domestic students; voluntary donations may be requested.
What is the roll size?
South Westland Area School has 137 students, with an EQI of 480 (mid-range socio-economic context).
When was the school last reviewed by ERO?
The Education Review Office last reviewed South Westland Area School in 2025-03, signed by Sharon Kelly. 4 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
- web.archive.org
- gazette.govt.nz
- schoolsdata.co.nz