Secondary (Year 7-15) · State : Integrated ·Girls School

St Mary's College (Ponsonby)

Q: Is St Mary's College (Ponsonby) a good school?

St Mary's College (Ponsonby) scores 86/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Top 10% in NZ nationally. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.

Q: What does the latest ERO review say?

ERO's 2024-12 review identified 6 key findings. The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021

Q: How do I enrol my child at St Mary's College (Ponsonby)?

Contact the school directly on 09-3766568, email office@stmaryak.school.nz, or visit www.stmaryak.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?

St Mary's College (Ponsonby) is a state school. There is no tuition fee for domestic students; voluntary donations may be requested.

Q: What is the roll size?

St Mary's College (Ponsonby) has 1,001 students, with an EQI of 388 (lower socio-economic need). It is a girls school-only school.

Q: When was the school last reviewed by ERO?

The Education Review Office last reviewed St Mary's College (Ponsonby) in 2024-12, signed by Shelley Booysen. 5 ERO reports are on file in our archive.

11 New Street, Ponsonby · Auckland — Central

See all schools in Ponsonby →

Total roll 1,001

EQI 388

Founded 1858

Composite score

Strong

Top 10% in NZ

Rank #146 of scored NZ schools

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Top 5% in University Entrance Top 25% in NCEA Level 2

Accepts international students (SIEBA member) SIEBA member State-integrated school State-integrated Catholic Girls-only school Secondary school (Secondary (Year 7-15)) Roll 1,000-2,000 (1,001) EQI 388 (low need)

In summary

St Mary's College is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 and has attested compliance with all aspects of the Code. The school's international student provision is well supported, with 36 international students attending at the time of review. International students have good opportunities to participate in leadership, sport and cultural activities, and the school is effectively reviewing its provision against the Code.

Best suited for

Students aged 13-18 in Ponsonby looking for a state-funded setting with a strong recent ERO trajectory.

Is St Mary's College (Ponsonby) a good school?

St Mary's College (Ponsonby) scores 86/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Top 10% in NZ nationally. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.

Strengths from the latest ERO report

International students' learning and wellbeing are well supported
Students have good opportunities to participate in leadership, sport and cultural activities
The school is effectively reviewing provision for international students against the Code

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 97% · L2 94% · UE 91% · 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 71% · Te Pūkenga 5% · Industry 2% · top 10% of band (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: top 10% of band (n=64).

Retention

15%

96% to Y13 · top 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: top quartile of band (n=66).

Wellbeing

12%

standdowns 2.0/1k · 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).

Trajectory

-4.9% 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

85/100 from ERO review 2024-12 · top quartile of band (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: 2024. Peer comparison: top quartile of band (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): 85/100.

Latest ERO review

2024-12-05 · Shelley Booysen, ERO

ERO report

The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021
The school has attested compliance with all aspects of the Code and completed an annual self review
At the time of review there were 36 international students attending the school
International students' learning and wellbeing are well supported
Students have good opportunities to participate in leadership, sport and cultural activities

"International students' learning and wellbeing are well supported."
— ERO, 2024-12-05 (wellbeing)

Composite score across reviews

4 ERO reviews on file, 2011–2024. Click a point to read that review.

latest 88

Audited financials

Year ended 2022 · Audit opinion: unmodified

Annual report

Total revenue

$16.73M

Surplus / (deficit)

+$126k

Net assets / equity

$2.13M

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).

Education Counts

NCEA Level 1 · 2024

97.1%

134 of 138 leavers

-2.0pt vs prior year

NCEA Level 2 · 2024

94.2%

130 of 138 leavers

-3.2pt vs prior year

University Entrance · 2024

91.3%

126 of 138 leavers

-3.5pt 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

96.4%

2024 cohort · 138 students

-0.2pt 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

2.0

3 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 21
Service Industries 2

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

$8.35M

Per-student funding · 2022

$8,340

2018

$7.0M

2019

$7.2M

2020

$7.9M

2021

$8.0M

2022

$8.3M

Roll by year level

July 2025 roll return.

Education Counts

Year 07

122
Year 08

133
Year 09

132
Year 10

157
Year 11

172
Year 12

150
Year 13+

136

Roll by ethnicity

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

Education Counts

European/Pākehā

57.9%
Asian

31.1%
Pacific

23.4%
Māori

11.9%
International

4.8%
Other / MELAA

3.5%

International students

SIEBA member · Day school only

ESOL support

partial

Years accepted

Year 7-13

Location

11 New Street, Ponsonby. Nearby schools marked in grey.

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Frequently asked

Is St Mary's College (Ponsonby) a good school?

What does the latest ERO review say?

ERO's 2024-12 review identified 6 key findings. The school is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021

How do I enrol my child at St Mary's College (Ponsonby)?

Contact the school directly on 09-3766568, email office@stmaryak.school.nz, or visit www.stmaryak.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?

St Mary's College (Ponsonby) is a state school. There is no tuition fee for domestic students; voluntary donations may be requested.

What is the roll size?

St Mary's College (Ponsonby) has 1,001 students, with an EQI of 388 (lower socio-economic need). It is a girls school-only school.

When was the school last reviewed by ERO?

The Education Review Office last reviewed St Mary's College (Ponsonby) in 2024-12, 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

5 Dec 2024

Source documents

5 cited

Spot an error?

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Sourced from

ero.govt.nz
stmaryak.school.nz
sieba.nz
schoolsdata.co.nz
crimestats.co.nz