Waitaki Girls' High School
Trent Street, Oamaru · Otago & Southland
Composite score
Established
Below median
Rank #1,600 of scored NZ schools
Active MoE intervention — limited statutory manager
A limited statutory manager has been appointed to Waitaki Girls' High School as of 2025-09-03. NZ Gazette notice
In summary
Waitaki Girls' High School's February 2025 board assurance review found the school met regulatory and legislative requirements across six areas, with one identified non-compliance regarding identity document checks under the Children's Act 2024 that the board has since addressed. The school is currently operating under a limited statutory manager appointment from the Ministry of Education.
Best suited for
Students aged 13-18 in Oamaru looking for a state-funded setting with an established ERO profile.
Is Waitaki Girls' High School a good school?
Waitaki Girls' High 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.
Strengths from the latest ERO report
- Board attested to compliance across all six regulatory and legislative requirement areas
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 88% · L2 77% · UE 57% · above band median (n=109) · why? ▼ hide
Uni 17% · Te Pūkenga 9% · Industry 3% · near band median (n=102) · why? ▼ hide
84% to Y13 · top quartile of band (n=115) · why? ▼ hide
standdowns 38.7/1k · suspensions 5.3/1k · exclusions 0.0/1k · near band median (n=468) · why? ▼ hide
-1.0% roll over 5yr (2020→2025) · near band median (n=469) · why? ▼ hide
60/100 from ERO review 2025-02 · bottom 10% 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): 60/100.
Latest ERO review
2025-02-28 · Sharon Kelly, ERO
- Board has attested to meeting regulatory and legislative requirements across Board Administration, Curriculum, Health/Safety/Welfare, Personnel, Finance, and Assets
- One area of non-compliance identified: school needs to check primary and secondary identity documents for workforce safety checking under Children's Act 2024
- Board has since addressed the identified non-compliance
"As of September 2024, the Waitaki Girls' High School Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements"
Composite score across reviews
4 ERO reviews on file, 2019–2025. Click a point to read that review.
Audited financials
Year ended 2024 · Audit opinion: unmodified
Total revenue
$7.54M
Surplus / (deficit)
+$521k
Net assets / equity
$3.71M
NCEA achievement
School leavers with NCEA at each level. National average is ~85% (Level 1).
NCEA Level 1 · 2024
88.2%
75 of 85 leavers
-2.3pt vs prior year
NCEA Level 2 · 2024
76.5%
65 of 85 leavers
-1.3pt vs prior year
University Entrance · 2024
56.5%
48 of 85 leavers
+5.7pt 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.
83.5%
2024 cohort · 85 students
+7.3pt 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
38.7
24 this year · NZ avg ~37
Suspensions · 2024
5.3
4 this year · 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 13
- Creative Industries 3
- Primary Industries 2
- Social and Community Services 1
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
$4.51M
Per-student funding · 2022
$11,525
2018
$3.7M
2019
$3.8M
2020
$4.4M
2021
$5.1M
2022
$4.5M
Roll by year level
July 2025 roll return.
- Year 09 96
- Year 10 99
- Year 11 76
- Year 12 62
- Year 13+ 73
Roll by ethnicity
Share of total roll. Students who identify with multiple ethnicities are counted once.
- European/Pākehā 80.6%
- Pacific 13.0%
- Māori 12.0%
- Asian 8.4%
- Other / MELAA 1.8%
- International 0.8%
International students
SIEBA member · Day school only
Location
Trent Street, Oamaru. Nearby schools marked in grey.
Map tiles © OpenStreetMap, © CARTO
Schools nearby
Within 15km, sorted by distance. Add any to compare with Waitaki Girls' High School.
Te Pākihi o Maru
Contributing · 0.4km · 132 roll
58
-2 vs this
St Joseph's School (Oamaru)
Full Primary · 0.5km · 139 roll
60
0 vs this
Pembroke School (Oamaru)
Contributing · 1.4km · 263 roll
43
-17 vs this
Oamaru Intermediate
Intermediate · 1.7km · 312 roll
57
-3 vs this
Waitaki Boys' High School
Secondary (Year 9-15) · 2km · 413 roll
52
-8 vs this
Fenwick School
Contributing · 2.1km · 294 roll
43
-17 vs this
Frequently asked
Is Waitaki Girls' High School a good school?
Waitaki Girls' High 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 2025-02 review identified 3 key findings. Board has attested to meeting regulatory and legislative requirements across Board Administration, Curriculum, Health/Safety/Welfare, Personnel, Finance, and Assets
How do I enrol my child at Waitaki Girls' High School?
Contact the school directly on 03-4348429, email office@waitakigirlshigh.school.nz, or visit www.waitakigirlshigh.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?
Waitaki Girls' High School is a state school. There is no tuition fee for domestic students; voluntary donations may be requested.
What is the roll size?
Waitaki Girls' High School has 391 students, with an EQI of 478 (mid-range socio-economic context). It is a girls school-only school.
When was the school last reviewed by ERO?
The Education Review Office last reviewed Waitaki Girls' High School in 2025-02, signed by Sharon Kelly. 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
- web.archive.org
- gazette.govt.nz
- sieba.nz
- schoolsdata.co.nz
- crimestats.co.nz