Wellington Girls' College
18 Pipitea Street, Thorndon
Composite score
Strong
Top 10% in NZ
Rank #148 of scored NZ schools
In summary
Wellington Girls' College received a composite score of 75 in its Te Ara Huarau review dated 29 April 2024. Key strengths include governance and leadership that builds relational trust and effective collaboration, a curriculum reflecting local contexts, and teachers' commitment to tangata whenuatanga and Te Tiriti partnership. The school offers relevant, authentic learning opportunities with clear expectations for high-quality, culturally sustaining teaching.
Best suited for
Students aged 13-18 in Thorndon looking for a state-funded setting with a strong recent ERO trajectory.
Is Wellington Girls' College a good school?
Wellington Girls' College 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
- Governance and leadership that builds and sustains high levels of relational trust and effective collaboration at every level of the school community
- Curriculum that offers a range of relevant and authentic learning opportunities and increasingly reflects local contexts
- Clear, shared and increasingly embedded expectations for high-quality, evidence-informed and culturally sustaining teaching
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 98% · L2 96% · UE 93% · top quartile of band (n=66) · why? ▼ hide
Uni 71% · Te Pūkenga 3% · Industry 1% · top quartile of band (n=64) · why? ▼ hide
97% to Y13 · top quartile of band (n=66) · why? ▼ hide
standdowns 2.4/1k · suspensions 0.4/1k · exclusions 0.0/1k · near band median (n=536) · why? ▼ hide
-5.1% roll over 5yr (2020→2025) · near band median (n=534) · why? ▼ hide
75/100 from ERO review 2024-04 · below band median (n=539) · 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): 75/100.
Latest ERO review
2024-04-29 · Shelley Booysen, ERO
- Governance and leadership builds and sustains high levels of relational trust and effective collaboration to achieve strategic vision
- Curriculum increasingly reflects local contexts in ways that allow learners to see themselves, their identity and culture
- Teachers demonstrate growing commitment to tangata whenuatanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership
- Structures, programmes and practices are strengthening to promote learners' wellbeing, inclusion and confidence in identity, language and culture
- School focused on evaluating impact of curriculum developments and culturally sustaining practices on learner experiences and outcomes
"governance and leadership that builds and sustains high levels of relational trust and effective collaboration at every level of the school community to achieve the school's strategic vision and improvement goals"
Composite score across reviews
4 ERO reviews on file, 2013–2024. Click a point to read that review.
Audited financials
Year ended 2024 · Audit opinion: unmodified
Total revenue
$18.59M
Surplus / (deficit)
+$214k
Net assets / equity
$9.03M
3 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).
NCEA Level 1 · 2024
97.5%
269 of 276 leavers
-1.7pt vs prior year
NCEA Level 2 · 2024
96.4%
266 of 276 leavers
-1.2pt vs prior year
University Entrance · 2024
93.1%
257 of 276 leavers
+1.6pt 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.
96.7%
2024 cohort · 276 students
-0.1pt 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
2.4
5 this year · NZ avg ~37
Suspensions · 2024
0.4
1 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 24
- Creative Industries 22
- Social and Community Services 3
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
$22.71M
Per-student funding · 2022
$15,857
2018
$9.7M
2019
$11.2M
2020
$22.0M
2021
$14.5M
2022
$22.7M
Roll by year level
July 2025 roll return.
- Year 09 279
- Year 10 285
- Year 11 274
- Year 12 265
- Year 13+ 324
Roll by ethnicity
Share of total roll. Students who identify with multiple ethnicities are counted once.
- European/Pākehā 71.6%
- Asian 27.9%
- Māori 9.2%
- Other / MELAA 6.8%
- International 5.4%
- Pacific 5.1%
International students
SIEBA member · Day school only
ESOL support
partial
Location
18 Pipitea Street, Thorndon. Nearby schools marked in grey.
Map tiles © OpenStreetMap, © CARTO
Schools nearby
Within 15km, sorted by distance. Add any to compare with Wellington Girls' College.
Thorndon School
Full Primary · 0.2km · 265 roll
73
-13 vs this
Queen Margaret College
Composite · 0.3km · 756 roll
77
-9 vs this
Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu
Correspondence School · 0.4km · 9,145 roll
74
-12 vs this
Sacred Heart Cathedral School
Full Primary · 0.4km · 228 roll
79
-7 vs this
St Mary's College (Wellington)
Secondary (Year 9-15) · 0.5km · 550 roll
84
-2 vs this
Clifton Terrace Model School
Full Primary · 1.1km · 69 roll
77
-9 vs this
Frequently asked
Is Wellington Girls' College a good school?
Wellington Girls' College 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.
What does the latest ERO review say?
ERO's 2024-04 review identified 5 key findings. Governance and leadership builds and sustains high levels of relational trust and effective collaboration to achieve strategic vision
How do I enrol my child at Wellington Girls' College?
Contact the school directly on 04-4725743, email elmarie.els@wgc.school.nz, or visit www.wgc.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?
Wellington Girls' College is a state school. There is no tuition fee for domestic students; voluntary donations may be requested.
What is the roll size?
Wellington Girls' College has 1,432 students, with an EQI of 375 (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 Wellington Girls' College in 2024-04, 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
- wgc.school.nz
- sieba.nz
- schoolsdata.co.nz
- crimestats.co.nz