Te Wharekura o Arowhenua
734 Tweed Street, Invercargill · Otago & Southland
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Composite score
Established
Below median
Rank #1,634 of scored NZ schools
In summary
Te Wharekura o Arowhenua is a composite school in Invercargill serving 204 students. The school's 2020 ERO review found students experience strong emotional and physical wellbeing through aroha and manaaki-based relationships, with effective te reo Māori development and valued whānau engagement. The school achieved a composite score of 84, with leaders identified as using collective strengths to support positive student outcomes, though the review noted a need to strengthen consistent implementation of Te Aho Matua philosophy across the school.
Best suited for
Students all year levels (Year 1-13) in Invercargill looking for a state-funded setting with an established ERO profile.
Is Te Wharekura o Arowhenua a good school?
Te Wharekura o Arowhenua scores 60/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Below median nationally. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.
Strengths from the latest ERO report
- Students experience strong emotional and physical wellbeing through aroha and manaaki-based relationships
- Whānau and community engagement is highly valued and actively involved in student learning pathways
- Te reo Māori is effectively developed through multi-faceted approach including kaiako capability building and use of local dialect
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 100% · L2 91% · UE 55% · top 10% of band (n=142) · why? ▼ hide
Uni 1% · Te Pūkenga 1% · Industry 1% · below band median (n=123) · why? ▼ hide
91% to Y13 · top quartile of band (n=166) · why? ▼ hide
standdowns 46.4/1k · suspensions 0.0/1k · exclusions 0.0/1k · near band median (n=539) · why? ▼ hide
+4.2% roll over 5yr (2020→2025) · near band median (n=524) · why? ▼ hide
84/100 from ERO review 2020-06 · top 10% of band (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): 84/100.
Latest ERO review
2020-06-19 · Gloria Takuira, ERO
- Students are loved and nurtured in an environment where their diverse interests, creativity and passion for learning are considered
- School leaders use their collective strengths, skills and knowledge to support positive outcomes for students
- Leaders, kaiako and whānau acknowledge the need to strengthen the implementation of the Te Aho Matua philosophy to embed values consistently across the school
- Students demonstrate growing te reo Māori proficiency with focus on individual and group language needs and local Kaitahu dialect
- Internal evaluation focuses on improvement with regular monitoring and reporting to track progress over time
"Students are loved and nurtured in an environment where their diverse interests, creativity and passion for learning are considered."
Composite score across reviews
2 ERO reviews on file, 2015–2020. Click a point to read that review.
NCEA achievement
School leavers with NCEA at each level. National average is ~85% (Level 1).
NCEA Level 1 · 2024
100.0%
11 of 11 leavers
0.0pt vs prior year
NCEA Level 2 · 2024
90.9%
10 of 11 leavers
-9.1pt vs prior year
University Entrance · 2024
54.5%
6 of 11 leavers
+25.9pt 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.
90.9%
2024 cohort · 11 students
+33.8pt 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
46.4
9 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
$4.24M
Per-student funding · 2022
$20,791
2018
$2.4M
2019
$3.4M
2020
$2.9M
2021
$3.3M
2022
$4.2M
Roll by year level
July 2025 roll return.
- Year 01 29
- Year 02 9
- Year 03 22
- Year 04 11
- Year 05 19
- Year 06 17
- Year 07 14
- Year 08 11
- Year 09 10
- Year 10 22
- Year 11 14
- Year 12 14
- Year 13+ 5
Roll by ethnicity
Share of total roll. Students who identify with multiple ethnicities are counted once.
- Māori 99.5%
- European/Pākehā 9.3%
- Pacific 8.3%
- Other / MELAA 0.5%
Location
734 Tweed Street, Invercargill. Nearby schools marked in grey.
Map tiles © OpenStreetMap, © CARTO
Schools nearby
Within 15km, sorted by distance. Add any to compare with Te Wharekura o Arowhenua.
Verdon College
Secondary (Year 7-15) · 0.2km · 727 roll
70
+10 vs this
Newfield Park School
Contributing · 1.2km · 223 roll
43
-17 vs this
Ascot Community School
Full Primary · 1.3km · 259 roll
48
-12 vs this
Murihiku Young Parents' Learning Centre
Teen Parent Unit · 1.7km · roll n/a
68
+8 vs this
St Patrick's School (Invercargill)
Contributing · 1.8km · 299 roll
65
+5 vs this
Aurora College
Secondary (Year 7-15) · 1.8km · 597 roll
36
-24 vs this
Frequently asked
Is Te Wharekura o Arowhenua a good school?
Te Wharekura o Arowhenua scores 60/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Below median nationally. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.
What does the latest ERO review say?
ERO's 2020-06 review identified 5 key findings. Students are loved and nurtured in an environment where their diverse interests, creativity and passion for learning are considered
How do I enrol my child at Te Wharekura o Arowhenua?
Contact the school directly on 03-216 7701, email tari@arowhenua.school.nz, or visit www.arowhenua.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?
Te Wharekura o Arowhenua is a state school. There is no tuition fee for domestic students; voluntary donations may be requested.
What is the roll size?
Te Wharekura o Arowhenua has 204 students, with an EQI of 536 (higher socio-economic need).
When was the school last reviewed by ERO?
The Education Review Office last reviewed Te Wharekura o Arowhenua in 2020-06, signed by Gloria Takuira. 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