Grantlea Downs School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 303
- Enrolment zone
- Yes
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 65 Grants Road, Marchwiel, Timaru
- Territorial authority
- Timaru District
- Phone
- 03-6847706
- office@grantleadowns.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.
- School day starts
- 9.00
9.00 School Begins
- 9.00
- School day ends
- 3.00
3.00 School Finishes
- 3.00
- Uniform
- Required
Wearing of the following uniform is compulsory.
- Required
- Term dates
- Term 1, 2026: Wed 4 February - Thursday 2 April
Wed 4 February - Thursday 2 April
Year stated asTerm Dates 2026
- Term 2, 2026: Monday 20 April - Friday 3 July
Monday 20 April - Friday 3 July
Year stated asTerm Dates 2026
- Term 3, 2026: Monday 20 July - Friday 25 Sep
Monday 20 July - Friday 25 Sep
Year stated asTerm Dates 2026
- Term 4, 2026: Monday 12 October - Wed 16 Dec
Monday 12 October - Wed 16 Dec
Year stated asTerm Dates 2026
- Term 1, 2026: Wed 4 February - Thursday 2 April
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.
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.
- On offer
- cross-country
Opportunities are offered to students to encourage attendance and participation in summer and winter sports tournaments, cross-country and athletics.
- athletics
Opportunities are offered to students to encourage attendance and participation in summer and winter sports tournaments, cross-country and athletics.
- netball
School netball, basketball, touch, softball, and T-ball teams participate in interclub competitions held out of school hours.
- basketball
School netball, basketball, touch, softball, and T-ball teams participate in interclub competitions held out of school hours.
- touch
School netball, basketball, touch, softball, and T-ball teams participate in interclub competitions held out of school hours.
- softball
School netball, basketball, touch, softball, and T-ball teams participate in interclub competitions held out of school hours.
- T-ball
School netball, basketball, touch, softball, and T-ball teams participate in interclub competitions held out of school hours.
- cross-country
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 226
- Māori
- 91
- Pacific
- 22
- Asian
- 41
- MELAA
- 5
- 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.
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 01 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 29 |
| Year 02 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 39 |
| Year 03 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 36 |
| Year 04 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 39 |
| Year 05 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 0 | 50 |
| Year 06 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 29 |
| Year 07 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 46 |
| Year 08 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 35 |
| Total | 86 | 26 | 33 | 0 | 6 | 230 | 0 | 303 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 27 |
| Age 06 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 38 |
| Age 07 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 38 |
| Age 08 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 40 |
| Age 09 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 0 | 48 |
| Age 10 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 30 |
| Age 11 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 39 |
| Age 12 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 34 |
| Age 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| Total | 86 | 26 | 33 | 0 | 6 | 230 | 0 | 303 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
141.8%
| Grantlea Downs School | 141.8% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 38.3% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 88.1% |
|---|---|
| Male | 191.8% |
| Māori | 243% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 113.7% |
| Total | 141.8% |
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
20.2%
| Grantlea Downs School | 20.2% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 3.7% |
| Full Primary | 3.9% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 37.5% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 24.1% |
| Total | 20.2% |
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
6.9%
| Grantlea Downs School | 6.9% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 1.7% |
| Full Primary | 1.7% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 12.8% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 8.2% |
| Total | 6.9% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison exclusion data (2024)
About the school
- Equity Index (EQI)
- 498
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Medium urban area
- Date opened
- 27 January 2005
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
- 5
- Last reviewed
- 28 April 2023
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile 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 board assurance report of 28 April 2023 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.
The roll ERO recorded, and when
ERO writes a roll into each report it publishes: a count taken for that report, on the day shown, by the review team that was there. The Ministry of Education’s current roll for this school is 303 — the figure at the top of this page, and the one to use for how big the school is now. These are a different measurement by a different body, so they will rarely agree, and a difference between them is not a change in the school.
April 2018
340
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 14 June 2018
March 2015
386
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 7 May 2015
We draw no line between these. Each was counted for its own report, years apart, by a different review team, and a roll moves between reviews for reasons none of these figures record — so the difference between any two of them measures nothing.
What ERO wrote in its latest report
This is ERO’s report of 28 April 2023 — “Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report” — section by section, under ERO’s own headings, in ERO’s own order. Nothing is summarised, shortened or reordered.
Background
This Profile Report was written within 12 months of the Education Review Office and Grantlea Downs School working in Te Ara Huarau , an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website. www.ero.govt.nz
Context
Grantlea Downs School caters for learners in Years 0 to 8. The school is situated in Timaru and is a member of South Timaru Community of Learning.
Grantlea Downs School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
increasing teacher capabilities
enhancing community relationships
building an explicitly tailored, localized curriculum.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Grantlea Downs School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate and create a coherent literacy teaching and learning pathway from Years 1 to 8, within a developing localised curriculum.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
new approaches to teaching literacy were introduced from 2021
the school’s analysed data shows that the majority of students are well supported to achieve at expected curriculum levels in reading and writing, in relation to age
it is timely to evaluate the impact of current teaching practices on outcomes for groups of learners who are not achieving to their potential.
The school expects to see literacy programmes positively impacting students’ engagement, achievement and progress. Clear learning pathways will guide teaching expectations from Years 1 to 8. Adaptive and responsive teaching will respond to student voice and choice, fostering meaningful, engaging literacy-learning opportunities. Leaders will embed systems and structures to promote enhanced teaching methods that reflect the school’s vision, “Growing a Community of Learners / He Whakatipu Hapori Akonga ”. Parents and whānau will be highly engaged in the literacy focus, with their partnership fostering learner success.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to create a coherent literacy teaching and learning pathway from Years 1 to 8, within a developing localised curriculum:
some targeted professional development has been undertaken to grow shared understandings of quality teaching practices in literacy
the school’s values are embedded in the culture of the school, reflected in settled, positive and supportive environments for learning
a deliberately implemented school-management system supports evidence-based decision making and includes a digital platform for connecting whānau and families with curriculum and learning.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
implementing an evaluation plan that will investigate the impact of current teaching practices on learner success in writing, and identify further opportunities for growth
using the evaluation to create explicit guidelines for literacy teaching and learning, coherent with the school’s developing localised curriculum
continuing professional learning for staff with an emphasis on weaving culturally responsive relationships and approaches through teaching and learning, underpinned by Ka Hikitia - Ka Hāpaitia / The Māori Education Strategy.
ERO’s role will be to support the school in its evaluation for improvement cycle to improve outcomes for all learners. ERO will support the school in reporting their progress to the community. The next public report on ERO’s website will be a Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report and is due within three years.
Shelley Booysen Director Schools
28 April 2023
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 5 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).