Mercury Bay Area School
Composite · State
- Year levels
- not reported
- Total roll
- 869
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- South Highway, Whitianga
- Territorial authority
- Thames-Coromandel District
- Phone
- 07-8665916
- mbas@mbas.ac.nz
- Website
- http://www.mbas.ac.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Waikato
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
Schooltex Royal Blue Short Sleeve Polo with embroidery logo Polar Fleece Schooltex Navy Polar Fleece with embroidery logo
- Required
- Term dates
- Term 1, 2026: Mon 2nd February – Thurs 2nd April
| Term 1 | Mon 2nd February - Years 1-9 (Years 11-13 Senior subject confirmation) Tues 3rd February - All Years Last day of term Thurs 2nd April |
Year stated asTerm Dates 2026
- Term 2, 2026: Mon 20th April – Fri 3rd July
| Term 2 | Mon 20th April Last day of term Fri 3rd July |
Year stated asTerm Dates 2026
- Term 3, 2026: Mon 20th July – Fri 25th September
| Term 3 | Mon 20th July Last day of term Fri 25th September |
Year stated asTerm Dates 2026
- Term 4, 2026: Mon 12th October – Thurs 10th December
| Term 4 | Mon 12th October Thurs 10th December (for all students) |
Year stated asTerm Dates 2026
- Term 1, 2026: Mon 2nd February – Thurs 2nd April
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
Mercury Bay Area School welcomes international students from around the world to participate in the life of the school and to enjoy our unique learning programmes.
- Accepted, as stated
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
- annual Dance Showcase
Participation in the annual Dance Showcase
- annual Dance Showcase
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 652
- Māori
- 233
- Pacific
- 27
- Asian
- 62
- MELAA
- 10
- Other
- 3
- International
- 25
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 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 35 |
| Year 02 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 59 |
| Year 03 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 47 |
| Year 04 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 76 |
| Year 05 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 51 |
| Year 06 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 45 |
| Year 07 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 0 | 70 |
| Year 08 | 22 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 65 | 0 | 82 |
| Year 09 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 63 | 0 | 75 |
| Year 10 | 29 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 77 | 0 | 95 |
| Year 11 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 7 | 87 |
| Year 12 | 23 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 7 | 102 |
| Year 13+ | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 7 | 49 |
| Total | 223 | 34 | 50 | 8 | 3 | 688 | 21 | 873 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 35 |
| Age 06 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 59 |
| Age 07 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 47 |
| Age 08 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 78 |
| Age 09 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 46 |
| Age 10 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 50 |
| Age 11 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 56 |
| Age 12 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 63 | 0 | 78 |
| Age 13 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 78 |
| Age 14 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 75 | 0 | 91 |
| Age 15 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 4 | 88 |
| Age 16 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 9 | 96 |
| Age 17 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 7 | 56 |
| Age 18 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 15 |
| Total | 223 | 34 | 50 | 8 | 3 | 688 | 21 | 873 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Academic results
Percentage with NCEA level 1 or above — 2025
83.1%
| Mercury Bay Area School | 83.1% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 84.2% |
| Composite (Year 1-15) | 91.4% |
| State: Not integrated | 83.6% |
| New Zealand | 85.2% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 83.3% |
|---|---|
| Male | 83% |
| Māori | 73.3% |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 85.9% |
| Total | 83.1% |
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
68.8%
| Mercury Bay Area School | 68.8% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 75.7% |
| Composite (Year 1-15) | 86% |
| State: Not integrated | 75.4% |
| New Zealand | 77.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 75% |
|---|---|
| Male | 66% |
| Māori | 53.3% |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 75% |
| Total | 68.8% |
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
46.8%
| Mercury Bay Area School | 46.8% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 51.3% |
| Composite (Year 1-15) | 71.7% |
| State: Not integrated | 55.2% |
| New Zealand | 59% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 50% |
|---|---|
| Male | 45.3% |
| Māori | 20% |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 51.6% |
| Total | 46.8% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 3 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with VP Award — 2025
5.2%
| Mercury Bay Area School | 5.2% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 15.1% |
| Composite (Year 1-15) | 16% |
| State: Not integrated | 14.4% |
| New Zealand | 14.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 16.7% |
|---|---|
| Male | 0% |
| Māori | 13.3% |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 4.7% |
| Total | 5.2% |
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
72.7%
| Mercury Bay Area School | 72.7% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 77.4% |
| Composite (Year 1-15) | 86.6% |
| State: Not integrated | 81.4% |
| New Zealand | 83% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 75% |
|---|---|
| Male | 71.7% |
| Māori | 66.7% |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 73.4% |
| Total | 72.7% |
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)
— 2023
not reported
| European/Pākehā | not reported |
|---|---|
| Female | not reported |
| Male | not reported |
| Māori | not reported |
| Pacific | not reported |
| Asian | not reported |
| MELAA | not reported |
| Other | not reported |
| Total | not reported |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: School leavers enrolled in tertiary education two years after leaving school (2021-2023 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)
— 2023
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 2: School leavers enrolled in tertiary education two years after leaving school (2021-2023 leaver cohorts)
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
108.5%
| Mercury Bay Area School | 108.5% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 53.9% |
| Composite (Year 1-15) | 26.5% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 56.6% |
|---|---|
| Male | 151.8% |
| Māori | 227.5% |
| Pacific | 92.5% |
| Asian | 48.8% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 88.6% |
| Total | 108.5% |
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
7.4%
| Mercury Bay Area School | 7.4% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 6.6% |
| Composite (Year 1-15) | 3.2% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 13.7% |
| Māori | 23.5% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 2.2% |
| Total | 7.4% |
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
3.3%
| Mercury Bay Area School | 3.3% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 2.4% |
| Composite (Year 1-15) | 1.2% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 6% |
| Māori | 8.8% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 1.3% |
| Total | 3.3% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison exclusion data (2024)
About the school
- Equity Index (EQI)
- 465
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Small urban area
- Date opened
- 31 January 1976
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
- 5 May 2023
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (5 May 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 5 May 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 and the board have identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
Safety checking of employees has not been completed to meet the expectations of the Children’s Act 2014.
The requirement to adopt a statement on the delivery of the health curriculum, at least once in every two years, after consultation with the school community has not been met.
[Section 92 Education and Training Act 2020].
Board procedure in the management of complaints was identified as needing improvement.
The board has since addressed areas of non-compliance identified.
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 869 — 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.
September 2017
956
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 17 November 2017
August 2014
884
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 28 October 2014
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 5 May 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 18 months of the Education Review Office and Mercury Bay Area 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
Mercury Bay Area School is located in the township of Whitianga on the north-eastern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula. It is a large area school which provides education for students in Years 1 to 13. The school aspires to a guiding statement of ‘students achieving success as themselves, students first’. The curriculum is underpinned by the schools KAURI expectations of ‘Kindness Ngākau Atawhai , Achievement Whakatutukitanga , Unity Kotahitanga , Respect Whakaute and Identity Tuakiri ’.
Mercury Bay Area School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
to provide quality learning programmes that raise achievement and engagement in learning
to provide learning that is student centred, puts students first and brings equity and excellence to all
to develop and maintain programmes that are reflective of the intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi .
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Mercury Bay Area School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which deliberate acts of leadership are improving outcomes for learners.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
the need to understand the impact of a range of teaching and learning strategies being implemented across the school and the impact of these on improved outcomes for learners
to use information gathered to inform and refine ongoing iterations of the school curriculum to best meet the needs of learners.
The school expects to see:
ongoing growth of teacher capability and collective capacity linked to school targets and outcomes for learners
refinement of systems and structures to support ongoing implementation and refinement of the school curriculum informed by internal evaluation
leaders who work systematically and collaboratively toward equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goals:
Established collaborative professional learning structures that support teacher capability building .
A rich curriculum underpinned by shared language and understanding of the school KAURI expectations .
Leadership focused on improving equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
continuing to refine the school curriculum in response to student voice and achievement information
developing internal evaluation structures that provide ongoing information and evidence for decision making
deliberate acts of leadership to improve equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners.
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
5 May 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).