Wairoa College
16 Lucknow Street, Wairoa · Hawke's Bay & Gisborne
Composite score
Developing
Below median
Rank #2,187 of scored NZ schools
Active MoE intervention — commissioner
A commissioner has been appointed to Wairoa College as of 2025-06-19. NZ Gazette notice
In summary
Wairoa College received a Te Ara Huarau review in November 2022 with a composite score of 79. The ERO identified strengths in leadership-driven professional learning on pedagogy and Mātauranga Māori, collaborative cross-curriculum programmes focused on student agency, and robust systems for identifying and supporting target students for equity and excellence. The school is currently subject to a limited statutory manager intervention from the Ministry of Education.
Best suited for
Students aged 13-18 in Wairoa looking for a state-funded setting.
Is Wairoa College a good school?
Wairoa College is currently under MoE intervention — a commissioner 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.
Strengths from the latest ERO report
- Leadership drives strategic direction through professional learning focused on pedagogical shifts in practices, in local curriculum, Mātauranga Māori, literacy and numeracy
- Collaborative approach to developing cross-curriculum programmes in Years 7 to 10 that is data driven and focused on promoting student agency
- Robust systems and processes in place to identify, monitor and support target students for equity and excellence in ākonga outcomes
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 76% · L2 64% · UE 17% · near band median (n=142) · why? ▼ hide
Uni 2% · Te Pūkenga 15% · Industry 8% · top 10% of band (n=123) · why? ▼ hide
52% to Y13 · bottom quartile of band (n=166) · why? ▼ hide
standdowns 62.6/1k · suspensions 15.6/1k · exclusions 1.3/1k · below band median (n=539) · why? ▼ hide
-16.1% roll over 5yr (2020→2025) · below band median (n=524) · why? ▼ hide
79/100 from ERO review 2022-11 · above band median (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): 79/100.
Latest ERO review
2022-11-22 · Phil Cowie, Central Region | Te Tai Pūtahi Nui
- Leadership drives strategic direction through professional learning focused on pedagogical shifts in practices, in local curriculum, Mātauranga Māori, literacy and numeracy
- Collaborative approach to developing cross-curriculum programmes in Years 7 to 10 that is data driven and focused on promoting student agency
- Robust systems and processes in place to identify, monitor and support target students for equity and excellence in ākonga outcomes
- School serves Wairoa District as Years 7 to 13 secondary school with 88% of ākonga identifying as Māori and offers bilingual education in Years 7 to 9
"leadership drives strategic direction through professional learning focused on pedagogical shifts in practices, in local curriculum, Mātauranga Māori, literacy and numeracy"
Composite score across reviews
2 ERO reviews on file, 2019–2022. Click a point to read that review.
Trajectory across review cycles
Year-over-year change per dimension based on consecutive ERO reviews.
Leadership at Wairoa College demonstrated continued strength and evolution between 2019 and 2022. The 2019 report noted that "the principal and senior leadership are effectively leading improvement" with clear direction and staff support. By 2022, leadership had deepened its strategic focus, with the later report highlighting that "leadership drives strategic direction through professional learning focused on pedagogical shifts in practices, in local curriculum, Mātauranga Māori, literacy and numeracy." The shift reflects a progression from foundational improvement leadership to more sophisticated, pedagogically-grounded strategic direction.
2019-07 → 2022-11 diff source
Wairoa College's curriculum approach evolved from initial development of a 'localised, engaging and future focused' curriculum (2019) to a more mature, evidence-driven implementation by 2022. The later report emphasizes stronger leadership direction through professional learning in local curriculum and Mātauranga Māori, with explicit focus on cross-curriculum programmes designed to promote student agency in Years 7-10.
2019-07 → 2022-11 diff source
Teaching practice evolved from developing 'a curriculum that is more localised, engaging and future focused' (2019) to a more systematically driven approach with 'professional learning focused on pedagogical shifts in practices, in local curriculum, Mātauranga Māori, literacy and numeracy' and 'collaborative approach to developing cross-curriculum programmes...that is data driven and focused on promoting student agency' (2022). The focus sharpened from curriculum design to explicit pedagogical transformation and student agency.
2019-07 → 2022-11 diff source
NCEA achievement
School leavers with NCEA at each level. National average is ~85% (Level 1).
NCEA Level 1 · 2024
76.1%
70 of 92 leavers
+6.8pt vs prior year
NCEA Level 2 · 2024
64.1%
59 of 92 leavers
+9.4pt vs prior year
University Entrance · 2024
17.4%
16 of 92 leavers
-9.3pt 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.
52.2%
2024 cohort · 92 students
+2.9pt 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
62.6
51 this year · NZ avg ~37
Suspensions · 2024
15.6
14 this year · NZ avg ~5
Exclusions · 2024
1.3
1 this year · NZ avg ~1.5
Vocational Pathway Awards
School leavers achieving Vocational Pathway Awards by industry sector (2024).
- 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.
Total Crown funding · 2022
$7.19M
Per-student funding · 2022
$20,242
2018
$5.4M
2019
$5.3M
2020
$6.4M
2021
$6.4M
2022
$7.2M
Roll by year level
July 2025 roll return.
- Year 07 53
- Year 08 48
- Year 09 77
- Year 10 68
- Year 11 82
- Year 12 45
- Year 13+ 34
Roll by ethnicity
Share of total roll. Students who identify with multiple ethnicities are counted once.
- Māori 83.9%
- European/Pākehā 25.6%
- Pacific 5.6%
- Asian 2.3%
- Other / MELAA 0.8%
Location
16 Lucknow Street, Wairoa. Nearby schools marked in grey.
Map tiles © OpenStreetMap, © CARTO
Schools nearby
Within 15km, sorted by distance. Add any to compare with Wairoa College.
St Joseph's School (Wairoa)
Full Primary · 0.5km · 95 roll
78
+37 vs this
TKKM o Ngati Kahungunu o Te Wairoa
Composite · 0.7km · 189 roll
62
+21 vs this
Wairoa Primary School
Full Primary · 0.9km · 297 roll
87
+46 vs this
Tiaho Primary School
Full Primary · 1km · 77 roll
30
-11 vs this
Te Whare Kounga (Proposed opening date: 2026-07-20)
Secondary (Year 7-15) · 1.2km · roll n/a
75
+34 vs this
Frasertown School
Full Primary · 7.7km · 122 roll
72
+31 vs this
Frequently asked
Is Wairoa College a good school?
Wairoa College is currently under MoE intervention — a commissioner 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 2022-11 review identified 4 key findings. Leadership drives strategic direction through professional learning focused on pedagogical shifts in practices, in local curriculum, Mātauranga Māori, literacy and numeracy
How do I enrol my child at Wairoa College?
Contact the school directly on 06-8388303, email info@wairoacollege.school.nz, or visit www.wairoacollege.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?
Wairoa College is a state school. There is no tuition fee for domestic students; voluntary donations may be requested.
What is the roll size?
Wairoa College has 355 students, with an EQI of 533 (higher socio-economic need).
When was the school last reviewed by ERO?
The Education Review Office last reviewed Wairoa College in 2022-11, signed by Phil Cowie. 3 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
- gazette.govt.nz
- schoolsdata.co.nz
- crimestats.co.nz