Gordonton School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 243
- Enrolment zone
- Yes
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- Woodlands Road, Gordonton, Hamilton
- Territorial authority
- Waikato District
- Phone
- 07-8243602
- admin@gordonton.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Waikato
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.
What does the school say about itself?
Quoted, not summarised. Every school describes itself well, so this is here to be read as the school’s own case rather than as a finding — and a school that states nothing simply has no row.
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.
- International students
- Accepted, as stated
We are a signatory to the International Code of Practice and we welcome international students.
- Accepted, as stated
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 199
- Māori
- 16
- Pacific
- 3
- Asian
- 41
- MELAA
- 3
- Other
- 0
- International
- 7
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.
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 01 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 34 |
| Year 02 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 30 |
| Year 03 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 28 |
| Year 04 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 35 |
| Year 05 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 28 |
| Year 06 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 27 |
| Year 07 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 1 | 33 |
| Year 08 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 18 |
| Total | 26 | 3 | 30 | 6 | 2 | 196 | 4 | 233 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 33 |
| Age 06 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 29 |
| Age 07 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 29 |
| Age 08 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 36 |
| Age 09 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 27 |
| Age 10 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 28 |
| Age 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 1 | 33 |
| Age 12 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 15 |
| Age 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 26 | 3 | 30 | 6 | 2 | 196 | 4 | 233 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
8.5%
| Gordonton School | 8.5% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 53.9% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 18.5% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 9.9% |
| Total | 8.5% |
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
0%
| Gordonton School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 6.6% |
| 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
0%
| Gordonton School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 2.4% |
| 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)
- 420
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural other
- Date opened
- 30 September 1891
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
- 6
- Last reviewed
- 6 March 2025
- Latest report
- School Evaluation Report
- Report type
- Evaluation report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (6 March 2025)
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 board assurance report of 6 March 2025 carries no actions-for-compliance section — the section ERO uses when it names non-compliance it identified. That is what this report contains; it is not ERO saying it found none. Other reports ERO holds for this school may say something different.
What ERO wrote in its latest report
This is ERO’s report of 6 March 2025 — “School Evaluation Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.
School Evaluation Report
Tēnā koutou e mau manawa rahi ki te kaupapa e aro ake nei, ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa. Mā wai rā e kawe, mā tātau katoa.
We acknowledge the collective effort, responsibility and commitment by all to ensure that the child remains at the heart of the matter.
Context
Gordonton School is a rural school in the north-east of Hamilton and provides education for students in Years 1 to 8. The school’s MANA expectations promote a positive learning environment for students through the values of manaakitanga, awhina, ngākau pono and ako . The school has strong relationships with Ngāti Wairere and Hukanui Marae.
There are three parts to this report.
Part A: A summary of the findings from the most recent Education Review Office (ERO) report and/or subsequent evaluation.
Part B: An evaluative summary of learner success and school conditions to inform the school board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki /bilingual settings.
Part C: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.
Part A: Previous Improvement Goals
Since the previous ERO report of June 2022, ERO and the school worked together to evaluate how well school conditions contribute to supporting Māori students to achieve success as Māori and enable equitable outcomes for all.
Expected Improvements and Findings
The school expected to see deliberate actions implemented to improve the quality and effectiveness of culturally inclusive teaching and learning across the school and continuous improvement in outcomes for identified learners.
The school wide approach to culturally responsive leadership and teaching improves equitable outcomes and raises achievement for Māori students and other identified target learners.
Ongoing review and collaboration over student assessment strengthens consistency of practice and reliability of data across the school.
Regular monitoring of student progress and outcomes supports planning for continuous improvement and innovation.
Other Findings
The greatest shift that occurred in response to the school’s action was the strengthening of a culturally responsive curriculum that improves outcomes for learners, enables equity for Māori students and empowers positive changes in the wider school culture.
Part B: Current State
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
Learner Success and Wellbeing
Outcomes for students are increasingly equitable and excellent.
Most students are achieving at or above expected levels in literacy and mathematics; approximately a third of all students excel in reading and mathematics; students with additional needs and English language learners make appropriate progress in relation to their individual goals and learning progressions.
Data over time shows significant improvement in equitable outcomes for Māori learners; Māori students achieve at similar or better levels than their Pākehā peers; boys achieve at slightly lower levels than girls in reading; overall writing achievement has improved over time; significant disparity remains for boys in writing.
Wellbeing data shows almost all students have a strong sense of belonging, feel culturally valued and respected, have positive relationships with teachers and report feeling safe at school.
The school is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education’s 2030 target for regular attendance.
Conditions to support learner success
Strategic leadership maintains a strong focus on quality teaching, equity and excellence in learner outcomes.
A range of assessment information is used effectively to develop relevant improvement goals and targets, including a focus on accelerating progress for students at risk of not achieving.
Provision of professional learning and collaboration strengthens collective capability to improve equitable outcomes for Māori and other identified target students and enrich the quality of teaching and learning across the school.
A planned approach to gathering the views of students, staff, parents, whānau and community supports responsive planning for continuous improvement.
Student learning is effectively supported through an inclusive and responsive curriculum.
Positive relationships between teachers and students and the school’s bicultural values promote a calm and inclusive culture for learning.
A strategic focus on all students gaining strong foundation skills in literacy and mathematics enables high levels of overall achievement and learner success.
Students requiring additional support are clearly identified and interventions implemented to address their diverse needs and minimise barriers to learning.
Well established school conditions improve and sustain positive outcomes for all learners.
The board makes well informed resourcing decisions to enable equitable opportunities for students to learn and succeed.
Respectful relationships with parents, whānau, mana whenua and Te Pae Here Kāhui Ako strengthen authentic partnerships for learning and contribute to actions for continuous improvement.
A collaborative approach to supporting the progress and learning of identified students contributes to targeted teaching and effective transition across classrooms.
Part C: Where to next?
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
continue to strengthen collective capability to increase rates of accelerated progress for target learners and improve equitable outcomes for boys in writing
continue to sustain high levels of student achievement in reading and mathematics and challenge students to excel and achieve excellence in writing
extend the analysis of school progress data to strengthen internal evaluation and further inform targeted action for continuous improvement.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Every six months:
continue to monitor and review assessment practices in writing to support effective data analysis and evaluation
report on the rates of progress for all students at risk of not achieving and continue to monitor and compare progress over time.
Annually:
extend annual target setting to include a focus on accelerating learning to increase the number of students achieving above expected levels in writing and reduce disparity in boys’ achievement
formally evaluate and report on the effectiveness of strategies and teaching practices to accelerate learning for target students including improving equitable outcomes for boys in writing and raise overall levels of excellence in writing achievement.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
increased and sustained levels of equity and excellence in outcomes for all learners in literacy and mathematics
high-quality internal evaluation practices.
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Me mahi tahi tonu tātau, kia whai oranga a tātau tamariki Let’s continue to work together for the greater good of all children
Sharon Kelly Acting Director of Schools
6 March 2025
About the School
The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home
Read the full report on ero.govt.nz →
All 6 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).