Limehills School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 135
- Enrolment zone
- Yes
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- Derby Road, Limehills
- Territorial authority
- Southland District
- Phone
- 03-2360772
- office@limehills.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Southland
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.
- Term dates
- Term 1, 2025: 3rd Feb - 11th April
Term 1: 3rd Feb - 11th April
Year stated as2025 Term Dates
- Term 2, 2025: 28th April - 27th Jun
Term 2: 28th April - 27th Jun
Year stated as2025 Term Dates
- Term 3, 2025: 14th July - 19th Sep
Term 3: 14th July - 19th Sep
Year stated as2025 Term Dates
- Term 4, 2025: 6th Oct - 16th Dec
Term 4: 6th Oct - 16th Dec
Year stated as2025 Term Dates
- Term 1, 2025: 3rd Feb - 11th April
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 108
- Māori
- 26
- Pacific
- 3
- Asian
- 25
- MELAA
- 2
- 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 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 15 |
| Year 02 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 13 |
| Year 03 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 18 |
| Year 04 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 18 |
| Year 05 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 22 |
| Year 06 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 18 |
| Year 07 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 28 |
| Year 08 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 18 |
| Total | 30 | 5 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 121 | 0 | 150 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Age 06 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 16 |
| Age 07 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 18 |
| Age 08 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
| Age 09 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 22 |
| Age 10 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 18 |
| Age 11 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 22 |
| Age 12 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 22 |
| Age 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | 30 | 5 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 121 | 0 | 150 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
20.8%
| Limehills School | 20.8% |
|---|---|
| Southland Region | 61.8% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 42.6% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 24.7% |
| Total | 20.8% |
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
0%
| Limehills School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Southland Region | 6.3% |
| 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%
| Limehills School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Southland Region | 2.8% |
| 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)
- 429
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural other
- Date opened
- 25 January 1872
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
- 23 August 2023
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (23 August 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 23 August 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 135 — 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.
November 2017
185
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 19 February 2018
This is one count taken for one report. It says what the roll was on that day, and nothing about how the roll has moved.
What ERO wrote in its latest report
This is ERO’s report of 23 August 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 Limehills 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
Limehills School in Central Southland provides education for students from Years 0 to 8. The principal was appointed in 2022 and a new senior leadership team was appointed in 2023. The school’s mission is: “Our tamariki will have a ‘can-do’ attitude and take ownership of their learning”.
Limehills School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to develop:
strengths in literacy and numeracy and improve all students’ learning outcomes
skills in te reo Māori and to have a greater understanding of tikanga Māori and Te Tiriti ō Waitangi .
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Limehills School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the school’s writing programme supports learners to meet the expectations of the Literacy Learning Progressions.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
over the last two years the school has implemented ‘Structured Literacy’ in the four junior classrooms, and ‘The Code’ across all learning areas and wishes to evaluate the impact of both on student outcomes
staff have identified a need to improve learners’ writing fluency and the inclusion of surface and deeper features to better meet the expectations of the Literacy Learning Progressions in all contexts.
The school expects to see:
a programme that enables all ākonga access to the curriculum through strong foundational literacy skills and knowledge
increased engagement, progress, and achievement for ākonga in literacy.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support it in its goal to achieve improved learning outcomes for all ākonga in literacy:
a collaborative teaching team who have high expectations for all students to achieve
a strong partnership between the community and school that supports learning and wellbeing
a consistent approach to literacy teaching schoolwide, that is supported by regular professional development for teachers and learning assistants
the delivery of a structured literacy programme that aligns with the school’s strategic direction and priorities.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
a collaborative approach to planning, assessment and data gathering to monitor and evaluate the impact of the literacy programme on students’ learning
a tracking process to ensure ongoing support for identified groups of students not making expected progress.
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 of Schools 23 August 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 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).