Last updated October 2026
Waitara High School is a state, co-educational secondary school for Years 9 to 13 at 18 Princess Street, Waitara. It opened in 1947 and had 423 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes all of Huirangi, Sentry Hill, Brixton and Waitara, and parts of Bell Block, Lepperton, Paraite and Everett Park; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school’s website describes a wide choice of courses and qualifications that prepare students for tertiary study, workplace training or employment. Outside the classroom, its site lists sport, performing arts, cultural performance, music and visual arts.
At a glance
- Principal
- Daryl Warburton
- Address
- 18 Princess Street, Waitara
- Phone
- 06 754 7514
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Sentry Hill, Huirangi, Waitara and Brixton.
Parts of Bell Block New Plymouth, Lepperton, Paraite and Everett Park: 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.
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 423 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.
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 Report from September 2026. ERO rated the school as doing well in several areas, including foundational literacy and numeracy, engagement and belonging, equity, curriculum and support for students with additional needs.
A large majority of students gain NCEA Levels 2 and 3, almost all meet the NCEA literacy and numeracy requirements by the end of Year 11, and Māori students achieve at similar or better levels than their peers in most senior measures.
ERO noted that He Kākano, the school’s te reo Māori class for Year 9 and 10 students, strengthens identity and belonging.
ERO judged attendance as needing improvement, with less than half of students attending regularly, though rates are rising. In Years 9 and 10, results in reading, writing and mathematics are still under the levels the curriculum expects, and ERO rated student achievement, leadership, teaching, assessment, school improvement and governance as working towards.
ERO found a fire evacuation compliance issue, which the board has since fixed. Next steps are to lift attendance, make better use of Year 9 and 10 achievement information, evaluate targeted actions more systematically, and set a clearer direction for He Kākano.
Read the ERO reports for Waitara High School
Enrolling
Waitara High School has an enrolment zone. Students who live in the zone have the right to enrol, and families need to show proof of address. Out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places.
Families can enrol online or collect an enrolment pack from the school office, and the enrolment page also has the forms and information to read before starting.
Schools nearby
In Waitara
Waitara High School is in Waitara. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Waitara guide →Questions parents ask
Is Waitara High School zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Sentry Hill, Huirangi, Waitara and Brixton and parts of Bell Block New Plymouth, Lepperton, Paraite and Everett Park.
What years does it teach?
Years 9 to 13.
How many students go there?
423 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?
524. 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, 70.2% 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). 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).