Last updated November 2026
Oakura School is a state, co-educational full primary school for Years 1 to 8 at 16 Donnelly Street, New Plymouth. It opened in 1891 and had 376 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes all of Tataraimaka, Kaitake and Ōakura, and parts of Koru and Omata; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school’s information booklet describes a weekly kapa haka session for all students covering waiata, tikanga and te reo, an optional kapa haka group, music lessons, and environmental projects such as beach clean-ups, planting and stream monitoring, with Years 7 and 8 going to Devon Intermediate for technicraft. The site also links to an after-school care programme run by an outside provider.
At a glance
- Principal
- Dave Smith
- Address
- 16 Donnelly Street, New Plymouth
- Phone
- 06 752 7719
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Kaitake, Ōakura and Tataraimaka.
Parts of Koru and Omata: check your street.
Zone boundaries are set by the school’s enrolment scheme and can change. Confirm your address with the school before you rely on it.
Who goes here
Share of the 376 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
MELAA: Middle Eastern, Latin American and African.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a School Evaluation Report from November 2024. ERO found that most students are engaged and making good progress, with almost all learners at expected curriculum levels in reading and maths and most at expected levels in writing.
Learners have a strong sense of belonging and regular te reo and tikanga Māori, students with additional needs are increasingly well supported, and a newly appointed leadership team is building a positive, improvement-focused culture in close partnership with the community.
ERO also noted that only a small majority of learners attend regularly, below Ministry targets. The agreed next steps are to align the school’s values with its learner profile, make practices more consistent so students move smoothly through the school, analyse results for groups of students over time and report them to the board and community, give students more say in their learning, and plan and resource ongoing growth in te reo and tikanga Māori.
Read the ERO reports for Oakura School
Enrolling
Students who live in the home zone have the right to enrol, and families are asked for proof of residence in the zone. Out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places.
The school says it advertises a small number of out-of-zone places each year for children starting the following year. To enrol, families book an appointment through the school office and bring documents such as the child’s birth certificate and immunisation record, as listed on the enrolment page.
Schools nearby
Where students go next
Based on home zones around the school’s own address. Families can apply to any school, and your own address decides which zones you are in.
In Ōakura
Oakura School is in Ōakura. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Ōakura guide →Questions parents ask
Is Oakura School zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Kaitake, Ōakura and Tataraimaka and parts of Koru and Omata.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 8.
How many students go there?
376 at 1 Sep 2026.
Does it ask for donations?
It may. It is not in the donation scheme, so it can ask families for donations.
What is its Equity Index?
390. The Ministry of Education’s Equity Index estimates the socio-economic barriers a school’s students face, from 344 (fewest) to 569 (most). It is used to share out funding, not as a measure of quality.
Updated automatically when the Ministry publishes new data.
Spotted something incorrect on this page? Let us know.
Sources and data notes 1
- School facts: School details and roll: Ministry of Education school directory, 22 Oct 2026 (CC BY 4.0). Home zone: Ministry of Education enrolment zones (CC BY 4.0). NCEA results, roll history and stand-downs: Education Counts, school leavers 2023 to 2025, stand-downs 2025, rolls 2021 to 2025 (CC BY 4.0).