Fernside School

Full Primary · State

Year levels: 1–8
Total roll: 261
Enrolment zone: Yes
Gender: Co-Educational

Every one of the 293 schools in Canterbury Region with a published location. Fernside School is the marked one. Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0

Where is it, and how do I get in touch?

Address: 285 O'Roarkes Road, Fernside, Rangiora
Territorial authority: Waimakariri District
Phone: 03-3138608
Email: fernsideschool@fernside.school.nz
Website: http://www.fernside.school.nz
Directions: Get directions

Other schools nearby: schools in Canterbury

Can my child go here?

This school has an enrolment scheme, so a place is not open to every address. How enrolment zones work

Loading zone map…

Zone boundaries shown here are approximate. Ministry of Education data warns these boundaries do not have high spatial precision and can place neighbouring addresses on different sides of a line. This is not a confirmation of enrolment eligibility — always confirm directly with the school. Zone geometry also does not reflect enrolment priority rules (siblings, special character categories, ballots) — it shows the mapped boundary only.

Check if your address is in zone →

Source: Ministry of Education, CC BY 3.0 NZ

What would the day look like?

The practical things this school states on its own website — the hours, the uniform, the term dates, and how children get there. These are the school’s own words, not the Ministry’s record and not ERO’s.

Quoted from this school’s own website, as we read it on 13 August 2026. A web page carries no date of its own, so that is the day we read it — not a statement that any of this is still the case. Each line quotes the words it came from.

Uniform: Required- All students are required to wear clothing that falls within the following stated options:
Getting there: Two bus runs – Mt Thomas and Ohoka – both serviced by Torlesse Transport based in Rangiora; the same bus is used for both runs.We have two bus runs – Mt Thomas and Ohoka. They are both serviced by Torlesse Transport based in Rangiora. The same bus is used for the Mt Thomas and Ohoka runs.

Check it on the school’s own website →

What is on offer beyond the classroom?

The sports, arts, clubs and groups this school names on its own website. Not a complete list of what any school offers, and not a count — a school that names more here has written more down, which is not the same as doing more.

On offer: School BasketballOur School Basketball and Miniball teams play in local competitions
MiniballOur School Basketball and Miniball teams play in local competitions
swimmingswimming, aquatic skills passes, triathlon, duathlon, winter & summer sports tournaments, cross-country, athletics, basketball, and mountain biking.
triathlonswimming, aquatic skills passes, triathlon, duathlon, winter & summer sports tournaments, cross-country, athletics, basketball, and mountain biking.
duathlonswimming, aquatic skills passes, triathlon, duathlon, winter & summer sports tournaments, cross-country, athletics, basketball, and mountain biking.
winter & summer sports tournamentsswimming, aquatic skills passes, triathlon, duathlon, winter & summer sports tournaments, cross-country, athletics, basketball, and mountain biking.
cross-countryswimming, aquatic skills passes, triathlon, duathlon, winter & summer sports tournaments, cross-country, athletics, basketball, and mountain biking.
athleticsswimming, aquatic skills passes, triathlon, duathlon, winter & summer sports tournaments, cross-country, athletics, basketball, and mountain biking.
basketballswimming, aquatic skills passes, triathlon, duathlon, winter & summer sports tournaments, cross-country, athletics, basketball, and mountain biking.
mountain bikingswimming, aquatic skills passes, triathlon, duathlon, winter & summer sports tournaments, cross-country, athletics, basketball, and mountain biking.
gymnastics and trampoliningSome of the regular activities include: camping, gymnastics and trampolining, high-ropes, surfing, korfball, sailing, golf, cricket, skating, fun runs, alpine skiing and football.
high-ropesSome of the regular activities include: camping, gymnastics and trampolining, high-ropes, surfing, korfball, sailing, golf, cricket, skating, fun runs, alpine skiing and football.
surfingSome of the regular activities include: camping, gymnastics and trampolining, high-ropes, surfing, korfball, sailing, golf, cricket, skating, fun runs, alpine skiing and football.
korfballSome of the regular activities include: camping, gymnastics and trampolining, high-ropes, surfing, korfball, sailing, golf, cricket, skating, fun runs, alpine skiing and football.
sailingSome of the regular activities include: camping, gymnastics and trampolining, high-ropes, surfing, korfball, sailing, golf, cricket, skating, fun runs, alpine skiing and football.
golfSome of the regular activities include: camping, gymnastics and trampolining, high-ropes, surfing, korfball, sailing, golf, cricket, skating, fun runs, alpine skiing and football.
cricketSome of the regular activities include: camping, gymnastics and trampolining, high-ropes, surfing, korfball, sailing, golf, cricket, skating, fun runs, alpine skiing and football.
skatingSome of the regular activities include: camping, gymnastics and trampolining, high-ropes, surfing, korfball, sailing, golf, cricket, skating, fun runs, alpine skiing and football.
fun runsSome of the regular activities include: camping, gymnastics and trampolining, high-ropes, surfing, korfball, sailing, golf, cricket, skating, fun runs, alpine skiing and football.
alpine skiingSome of the regular activities include: camping, gymnastics and trampolining, high-ropes, surfing, korfball, sailing, golf, cricket, skating, fun runs, alpine skiing and football.
footballSome of the regular activities include: camping, gymnastics and trampolining, high-ropes, surfing, korfball, sailing, golf, cricket, skating, fun runs, alpine skiing and football.

Check it on the school’s own website →

Who goes here?

Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.

European: 244
Māori: 27
Pacific: 1
Asian: 4
MELAA: 0
Other: 0
International: 0

Roll by year level and age

Shown as context, not ranked, not compared to any average. As at 30 June 2026, from the same annual return as the roll count above.

By year level
	Māori	Pacific	Asian	Other	European/ Pākehā	Total
Year 01	2	0	0	0	34	35
Year 02	3	0	0	0	36	38
Year 03	1	1	0	0	33	33
Year 04	4	0	0	0	30	31
Year 05	1	0	1	1	37	39
Year 06	2	1	2	0	16	20
Year 07	4	0	0	1	52	54
Year 08	6	1	0	0	20	22
Total	23	3	3	2	258	272

By age
	Māori	Pacific	Asian	Other	European/ Pākehā	Total
Age 05	1	0	0	0	33	33
Age 06	4	0	0	0	36	39
Age 07	1	1	0	0	32	32
Age 08	4	0	0	0	32	33
Age 09	1	0	1	0	36	37
Age 10	1	1	2	1	17	21
Age 11	5	0	0	1	44	47
Age 12	5	1	0	0	23	24
Age 13	1	0	0	0	5	6
Total	23	3	3	2	258	272

Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0

Student engagement

Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024

18.3%

Fernside School	18.3%
Canterbury Region	38.3%
Full Primary	35.6%
State	40.2%
New Zealand	37.1%

Trend and demographic breakdown

Female	11.7%
Male	25.7%
Māori	0%
Pacific	Too few to report
Asian	Too few to report
Other	Too few to report
European/Pākehā	13%
Total	18.3%

Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison stand-down rates data (2024)

Age-standardised suspension rate per 1,000 students — 2024

Fernside School	0%
Canterbury Region	3.7%
Full Primary	3.9%
State	4.5%
New Zealand	4.1%

Trend and demographic breakdown

Female	0%
Male	0%
Māori	0%
Pacific	0%
Asian	0%
Other	0%
European/Pākehā	0%
Total	0%

Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison suspension rates data (2024)

Age-standardised exclusion rate per 1,000 students — 2024

Fernside School	0%
Canterbury Region	1.7%
Full Primary	1.7%
State	1.9%
New Zealand	1.8%

Trend and demographic breakdown

Female	0%
Male	0%
Māori	0%
Pacific	0%
Asian	0%
Other	0%
European/Pākehā	0%
Total	0%

Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison exclusion data (2024)

About the school

Equity Index (EQI): 412
Boarding: No
Language of instruction: All students taught in English/other setting
Urban / rural: Rural other
Date opened: 30 June 1864

The Equity Index is used by the Ministry to allocate equity funding. It describes the socio-economic barriers a school’s students face, not how good the school is. How the Equity Index works

What did ERO find?

The Education Review Office reviews every school and publishes what it finds in full. We quote ERO’s report here, section by section, in ERO’s own words and order, and link to it. We do not summarise a report, pick a line out of one, or turn one into a score. How ERO reviews schools

Reports ERO holds: 3
Last reviewed: 29 June 2026
Latest report: School Report June 2026
Report type: Review report
Board assurance: The board attested to all areas (28 April 2023)

A board assurance statement is the board’s own account of whether it took all reasonable steps to meet its legal obligations, on the date shown. It is not ERO’s finding. ERO reports separately, in the same report, on any non-compliance it identified during that process.

The same report — the board assurance report of 28 April 2023 — also sets out actions for compliance: the non-compliance ERO identified during that process. This is that section of the report in full, in ERO’s words.

ERO has identified the following area of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
the school needs to check a primary identity document and a secondary identity document, required for safety checking of workforce [Children’s Act 2014].
The board has since addressed the areas of non-compliance identified.

Read this board assurance report on ero.govt.nz →

What ERO wrote in its latest report

ERO published this report as a PDF attachment rather than as text on its page, so there is nothing here for us to quote from it. The report itself is at the link below.

Read this report on ero.govt.nz →

Read the full report on ero.govt.nz →

All 3 reports ERO holds for this school

ERO reviews a school every few years — around four years between reviews is the usual cycle — so an older date here reflects where a school sits in that cycle, not how it is doing.

Source: Education Review Office, CC BY 4.0.

Roll date: 30 June 2026 (2026).