Last updated October 2026
Spotswood College is a state, co-educational secondary school for Years 9 to 13 at 129 South Road, New Plymouth. It opened in 1960 and had 905 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. The college’s website describes the Koru Programme, in which each student works with a learning advisor on an individual learning plan, and Te Waka Manaaki, a specialist unit for students with the highest ongoing learning needs. Its site also lists a Māori performing arts course covering kapa haka and te reo Māori, music and band courses, sport, vocational pathways, and an international programme with homestay families.
At a glance
- Principal
- Nicola Ngarewa
- Address
- 129 South Road, New Plymouth
- Phone
- 06 751 2416
Home zone
No home zone: any student can apply to enrol. If more students apply than there are places, the school decides how places are offered.
NCEA results
School leavers with NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with all New Zealand school leavers.
This school New Zealand
School leavers are students who left school that year, whatever year level they left from.
Who goes here
Share of the 905 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
22 international students
MELAA: Middle Eastern, Latin American and African.
Stand-downs and suspensions
Cases per 1,000 students in 2025, adjusted for the ages of the school’s students, compared with all New Zealand schools.
Suspensions: fewer than 5 cases in 2025, so no rate is shown.
These measure how a school responds to behaviour, and schools set their own thresholds, so they are not a measure of how students behave.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a School Evaluation Report from April 2025. ERO found that most students progress well at their own pace and that most achieve NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3.
Students, with their whānau, choose personalised courses, which ERO said had lifted engagement. ERO described leadership guided by Te Tiriti o Waitangi, strong partnerships with whānau, hapū and iwi that help Māori students succeed as Māori, and a school where students have a strong sense of belonging.
ERO also found that gaps between groups of students remain at NCEA Level 3 and University Entrance, that schoolwide literacy and numeracy information for Years 9 and 10 is not yet reliable, and that attendance, while improving, does not yet meet government targets.
Next steps are to agree with the community on the outcomes the school should measure, strengthen literacy and numeracy pathways at every year level, keep developing personalised learning, and carry out and review the school’s attendance plan.
Read the ERO reports for Spotswood College
Enrolling
The college has no home zone, so any student can apply. New students apply with the online enrolment form and book an enrolment interview, which the college holds at its main contributing schools.
The college publishes its enrolment form and interview booking details on its website each year, with a separate enrolment process for international students.
Schools nearby
In Spotswood
Spotswood College is in Spotswood. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Spotswood guide →Questions parents ask
Is Spotswood College zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 9 to 13.
How many students go there?
905 at 1 Sep 2026.
Does it ask for donations?
No. It is in the donation scheme, so it only asks for donations for school camps.
What is its Equity Index?
493. 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.
How did its school leavers do in NCEA?
In 2025, 72.1% of its school leavers had NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with 77.8% of all New Zealand school leavers.
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). 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).