Māruawai College
Secondary (Year 7-15) · State
- Year levels
- 7–13
- Total roll
- 603
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 28 Coutts Road, Gore
- Territorial authority
- Gore District
- Phone
- 03-2089130
- seniorcampus@maruawai.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Southland
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 welcome international students at all year levels
- Accepted, as stated
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 448
- Māori
- 141
- Pacific
- 31
- Asian
- 42
- MELAA
- 8
- Other
- 4
- 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 07 | 23 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 65 | 0 | 91 |
| Year 08 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 85 | 0 | 104 |
| Year 09 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 75 | 0 | 95 |
| Year 10 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 0 | 92 |
| Year 11 | 23 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 77 | 0 | 105 |
| Year 12 | 23 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 74 | 0 | 95 |
| Year 13+ | 9 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 61 | 0 | 74 |
| Total | 140 | 30 | 42 | 15 | 6 | 512 | 0 | 656 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 11 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 61 |
| Age 12 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 83 | 0 | 99 |
| Age 13 | 26 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 78 | 0 | 100 |
| Age 14 | 21 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 70 | 0 | 90 |
| Age 15 | 24 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 80 | 0 | 106 |
| Age 16 | 23 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 82 | 0 | 99 |
| Age 17 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 64 | 0 | 84 |
| Age 18 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 17 |
| Total | 140 | 30 | 42 | 15 | 6 | 512 | 0 | 656 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Academic results
Percentage with NCEA level 1 or above — 2025
81.1%
| Māruawai College | 81.1% |
|---|---|
| Southland Region | 84.9% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 89.6% |
| State: Not integrated | 83.6% |
| New Zealand | 85.2% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 87.7% |
|---|---|
| Male | 75.7% |
| Māori | 75% |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | 100% |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Too few to report |
| European/Pākehā | 81.6% |
| Total | 81.1% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 1 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with NCEA level 2 or above — 2025
70.9%
| Māruawai College | 70.9% |
|---|---|
| Southland Region | 77.2% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 83.3% |
| State: Not integrated | 75.4% |
| New Zealand | 77.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 73.7% |
|---|---|
| Male | 68.6% |
| Māori | 50% |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | 85.7% |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Too few to report |
| European/Pākehā | 73.8% |
| Total | 70.9% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 2 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with NCEA level 3 or above — 2025
51.2%
| Māruawai College | 51.2% |
|---|---|
| Southland Region | 48% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 64.5% |
| State: Not integrated | 55.2% |
| New Zealand | 59% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 63.2% |
|---|---|
| Male | 41.4% |
| Māori | 20.8% |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | 85.7% |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Too few to report |
| European/Pākehā | 52.4% |
| Total | 51.2% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 3 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with VP Award — 2025
11.8%
| Māruawai College | 11.8% |
|---|---|
| Southland Region | 17.5% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 14.7% |
| State: Not integrated | 14.4% |
| New Zealand | 14.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 12.3% |
|---|---|
| Male | 11.4% |
| Māori | 12.5% |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | 28.6% |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Too few to report |
| European/Pākehā | 11.7% |
| Total | 11.8% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison Vocational Pathway data (2023-2025)
Retention
Percentage staying until at least 17th birthday — 2025
71.7%
| Māruawai College | 71.7% |
|---|---|
| Southland Region | 78.4% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 83.1% |
| State: Not integrated | 81.4% |
| New Zealand | 83% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 78.9% |
|---|---|
| Male | 65.7% |
| Māori | 62.5% |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | 100% |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Too few to report |
| European/Pākehā | 70.9% |
| Total | 71.7% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison trend data (2023-2025)
— 2024
not reported
| Total | not reported |
|---|---|
| Female | not reported |
| Male | not reported |
| Māori | not reported |
| Pacific | not reported |
| Asian | not reported |
| MELAA | not reported |
| Other | not reported |
| European/Pākehā | not reported |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 1: School leavers enrolled in tertiary education one year after leaving school (2022-2024 leaver cohorts)
— 2024
not reported
| Female | not reported |
|---|---|
| Male | not reported |
| Māori | not reported |
| Pacific | not reported |
| Asian | not reported |
| MELAA | not reported |
| Other | not reported |
| European/Pākehā | not reported |
| Total | not reported |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 1: School leavers enrolled in tertiary education one year after leaving school (2022-2024 leaver cohorts)
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
46%
| Māruawai College | 46% |
|---|---|
| Southland Region | 61.8% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 43.4% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 49% |
|---|---|
| Male | 43.1% |
| Māori | 101.8% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 34.4% |
| Total | 46% |
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
14.4%
| Māruawai College | 14.4% |
|---|---|
| Southland Region | 6.3% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 4.6% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 8.6% |
|---|---|
| Male | 20% |
| Māori | 46.7% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 6.5% |
| Total | 14.4% |
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%
| Māruawai College | 6% |
|---|---|
| Southland Region | 2.8% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 2% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 4.1% |
|---|---|
| Male | 7.7% |
| Māori | 19.8% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 1.3% |
| Total | 6% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison exclusion data (2024)
About the school
- Equity Index (EQI)
- 494
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Small urban area
- Date opened
- 31 December 2023
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
- 8 April 2025
- Latest report
- School Evaluation Report
- Report type
- Evaluation report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (8 April 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 same report — the board assurance report of 8 April 2025 — 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 areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
Ensured that is does not continue to employ in a teaching position a person who holds neither a practising certificate nor an authorisation [Education and Training Act 2020 Section 93 (3)].
The board has since taken steps to address the areas of non-compliance identified.
What ERO wrote in its latest report
This is ERO’s report of 8 April 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
Māruawai College is a coeducational college for learners in Years 7 to 13 located in Gore. The college opened in 2024 following the merger of Gore High School and Longford Intermediate. Currently education is provided across two campuses – a Year 7 to 8 junior campus and a Year 9 to 13 senior campus.
The college aims to equip all learners for a changing world through promoting a sense of belonging and providing future-focused, connected learning.
There are two parts to this report.
Part A: 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 B: The improvement actions prioritised for the school’s next evaluation cycle.
Part A: Current State
The following findings are to inform the school’s future priorities for improvement.
Learner Success and Wellbeing
Learning outcomes are variable and lifting the achievement of junior learners in literacy and numeracy is a priority.
Most school leavers achieve the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 2 and a majority gain Level 1, Level 3 and University Entrance (UE).
The school has identified it needs to raise the achievement of learners in Years 7 to 10 in reading, writing and mathematics.
Learning and engagement outcomes are not yet equitable for all groups of learners.
A majority of learners attend school regularly but not yet at levels that meet the government’s targets; the school has strengthened systems and practices for supporting regular attendance.
Conditions to support learner success
Leadership fosters trust and collaboration at every level of the school to achieve the school’s strategic vision and improvement goals
Staff report responsive, supportive and strengths-based leadership that encourages collaboration and innovation for improving the learning, wellbeing and engagement outcomes of all learners.
The board and leaders engaged constructively with the school community, including local iwi Māori , to develop the vision and strategic direction of the new school.
The board and leaders are establishing robust systems for monitoring and reporting on the school’s improvement and achievement goals and are using these increasingly well to inform strategic decisions.
The school is developing its connected, cohesive curriculum and quality teaching practice to better support learning and engagement outcomes for all learners
The school is in the early stages of introducing structured approaches to teaching literacy and numeracy and a more integrated, interest-based curriculum at junior levels to improve engagement and achievement levels.
Overall learners learn in calm, orderly learning environments with clear expectations and routines and positive relationships with their teachers; a large majority of learners report feeling safe and cared about in their school.
Strengthening the quality and consistency of teaching strategies that enable success in learning for learners with a wide range of abilities and needs is a next step.
The school is making good progress in establishing and embedding many of the key conditions for school improvement and success
The board represents the school community, actively scrutinises the performance of the school, makes evidence informed decisions to support improved outcomes and has sound processes to be assured it meets its legal and regulatory obligations.
Leaders and teachers are increasingly communicating with parents and whānau to build shared understandings of learners’ strengths and needs and to develop collaborative plans to respond to these.
The school has appropriate policies, programmes and practices to support and promote learners’ wellbeing, inclusion, engagement and transitions into, across and beyond school.
Leaders and teachers use evaluative evidence increasingly well to plan and implement actions for improvement and to monitor the progress and impacts of their actions.
Part B: Where to next?
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
lift the achievement of Year 7 to 10 learners in literacy and numeracy through implementation of structured approaches to teaching, evidence-based interventions and rigorous planning and monitoring
develop the college’s framework for effective teaching and use this to foster consistent, high-quality teaching with a focus on strategies that support engagement and success for diverse learners
continue development of the college’s connected curriculum and evaluation of how well it is supporting intended outcomes for learners
work in partnership with the school community to improve levels of regular attendance to maximise student’s success in learning.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within six months:
ensure explicit planning is in place and is regularly reviewed to accelerate the progress of learners receiving targeted teaching to lift their achievement in literacy and numeracy
support the capability of teachers on the junior campus to implement structured approaches to teaching literacy and numeracy; and of senior campus staff to begin to integrate explicit literacy and numeracy instruction across the curriculum
carry out the school’s planned internal review of the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics in Years 7 and 8 to identify strengths and areas for development
begin the school’s planned internal review of its new Year 9 connected curriculum to know about how well it is being implemented and contributing to learner engagement and progress; particularly in literacy and numeracy
progress development of the school’s expectations for effective teaching and begin to embed these in school systems for professional growth and school improvement monitoring and evaluation
Every six months:
evaluate the progress of learners receiving targeted teaching to accelerate their learning in literacy and numeracy to inform teacher planning and make decisions and adaptations to learning support
review and report on the progress and achievement of all junior learners in literacy and numeracy to identify barriers to learning and to inform targeted teacher planning
through the school’s professional development systems, monitor the implementation of the school’s expectations for quality teaching and use this to plan relevant professional learning
review and report on attendance and key engagement indicators to know about the effectiveness of planned strategies and school conditions for improving these
Annually:
board and leaders evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, strategies and teaching on lifting literacy and numeracy achievement and use this to inform goals, targets, associated planning and resourcing
board and leaders use attendance and engagement reporting to identify and promote effective strategies and practices
leaders and teachers use the school’s evaluation of its junior curriculum to make adaptations to strengthen intended outcomes.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
improved attendance and engagement levels, particularly for Year 7 to 10 learners
improved achievement in reading, writing and mathematics across Year 7 to 10 with more learners having success in the literacy and numeracy requirements for national qualifications
teachers using a wider range of effective teaching strategies to remove barriers to learning and to support success in learning for diverse learners.
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 Director of Schools (Acting)
8 April 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 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).