Trident High School
76 Arawa Road, Whakatane · Bay of Plenty
See all schools in Whakatane →
Composite score
Developing
Below median
Rank #1,668 of scored NZ schools
In summary
Trident High School is a secondary school in Whakatane serving 836 students. The Board's October 2023 assurance review confirmed that the school meets regulatory requirements for board administration, curriculum, and health, safety and welfare management. No composite score was assigned in this assurance review.
Best suited for
Students aged 13-18 in Whakatane looking for a state-funded setting.
Is Trident High School a good school?
Trident High School scores 58/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Below median nationally. ERO trajectory has declined across recent review cycles. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.
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 86% · L2 77% · UE 47% · above band median (n=109) · why? ▼ hide
Uni 12% · Te Pūkenga 12% · Industry 11% · above band median (n=102) · why? ▼ hide
73% to Y13 · below band median (n=115) · why? ▼ hide
standdowns 47.9/1k · suspensions 0.0/1k · exclusions 0.0/1k · near band median (n=468) · why? ▼ hide
-16.2% roll over 5yr (2020→2025) · bottom quartile of band (n=469) · why? ▼ hide
74/100 from ERO review 2016-05 · near band median (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): 74/100.
Latest ERO review
2023-10-26 · Shelley Booysen, ERO
- Board has attested to meeting Board Administration regulatory requirements
- Board has attested to meeting Curriculum regulatory requirements
- Board has attested to meeting Management of Health, Safety and Welfare requirements
- Board has attested to meeting Personnel Management regulatory requirements
- Board has attested to meeting Finance regulatory requirements
"As of October 2023, the Trident High School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements"
Composite score across reviews
2 ERO reviews on file, 2011–2016. Click a point to read that review.
Trajectory across review cycles
Year-over-year change per dimension based on consecutive ERO reviews.
Trident High School's Māori student achievement declined significantly between 2011 and 2016. The 2011 report praised a 'high proportion of Māori students achieving at levels above that of Māori students nationally,' but the 2016 report identified 'significant achievement disparities exist between Māori and Pākehā students,' with only 66% of Māori leavers achieving NCEA Level 2+ compared to 88% of Pākehā students in 2014.
2011-06 → 2016-05 diff source
Both reports emphasize Trident High School's innovative and broad-based curriculum with diverse learning pathways. The 2011 report highlighted the pioneering Trades Academy partnership, while the 2016 report expanded the description to include gifted and talented programmes, a military academy, and land skills courses, indicating curriculum diversification. However, the 2016 report introduces a significant concern absent from 2011: substantial achievement disparities between Māori and Pākehā students (88% vs 66% NCEA Level 2+ attainment).
2011-06 → 2016-05 diff source
Both reports affirm strong governance, but the 2016 report provides more explicit detail about governance structures and information management. The 2011 report emphasizes leadership quality and reflective practice culture, while the 2016 report specifically highlights the board's receipt of regular principal and departmental reports, and notes a 'recently developed system to track NCEA progress.'
2011-06 → 2016-05 diff source
Both reports rate leadership as effective, but the focus shifted from emphasizing the principal's individual excellence in 2011 to highlighting collective governance and systems-based leadership by 2016. The 2011 report praised the "high quality leadership by an experienced, knowledgeable principal who is well respected," while the 2016 report emphasized "effective governance" and the school's ability to "make effective use of achievement information to review curriculum and implement responsive programmes."
2011-06 → 2016-05 diff source
NCEA achievement
School leavers with NCEA at each level. National average is ~85% (Level 1).
NCEA Level 1 · 2024
86.3%
177 of 205 leavers
+3.9pt vs prior year
NCEA Level 2 · 2024
77.1%
158 of 205 leavers
+4.1pt vs prior year
University Entrance · 2024
46.8%
96 of 205 leavers
+3.7pt 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.
72.7%
2024 cohort · 205 students
-1.3pt 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
47.9
68 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).
- Service Industries 20
- Creative Industries 10
- Manufacturing and Technology 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.
Total Crown funding · 2022
$10.29M
Per-student funding · 2022
$12,306
2018
$8.9M
2019
$8.8M
2020
$10.5M
2021
$10.5M
2022
$10.3M
Roll by year level
July 2025 roll return.
- Year 09 197
- Year 10 212
- Year 11 165
- Year 12 148
- Year 13+ 132
Roll by ethnicity
Share of total roll. Students who identify with multiple ethnicities are counted once.
- Māori 62.4%
- European/Pākehā 45.6%
- Pacific 7.3%
- Asian 4.8%
- Other / MELAA 2.2%
- International 1.3%
International students
SIEBA member · Day school only
ESOL support
partial
Location
76 Arawa Road, Whakatane. Nearby schools marked in grey.
Map tiles © OpenStreetMap, © CARTO
Schools nearby
Within 15km, sorted by distance. Add any to compare with Trident High School.
Allandale School
Contributing · 0.8km · 358 roll
25
-33 vs this
St Joseph's Catholic School (Whakatane)
Full Primary · 1.2km · 273 roll
82
+24 vs this
Whakatane S D A School
Full Primary · 1.3km · 47 roll
64
+6 vs this
Whakatane Intermediate
Intermediate · 1.4km · 584 roll
39
-19 vs this
James Street School
Contributing · 1.5km · 256 roll
48
-10 vs this
Whakatane High School
Secondary (Year 9-15) · 1.5km · 1,192 roll
66
+8 vs this
Frequently asked
Is Trident High School a good school?
Trident High School scores 58/100 on the SchoolsNearMe composite — a weighted average of 5 axes (academic, outcomes, retention, wellbeing, trajectory). Below median nationally. ERO trajectory has declined across recent review cycles. The full breakdown is below; every input links to its source.
What does the latest ERO review say?
ERO's 2023-10 review identified 6 key findings. Board has attested to meeting Board Administration regulatory requirements
How do I enrol my child at Trident High School?
Contact the school directly on 07-3088159, email pa@trident.school.nz, or visit www.trident.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?
Trident High School is a state school. There is no tuition fee for domestic students; voluntary donations may be requested.
What is the roll size?
Trident High School has 836 students, with an EQI of 496 (mid-range socio-economic context).
When was the school last reviewed by ERO?
The Education Review Office last reviewed Trident High School in 2023-10, 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.
Sourced from
- ero.govt.nz
- sieba.nz
- schoolsdata.co.nz
- trident.school.nz
- crimestats.co.nz