Otamatea High School
Secondary (Year 7-15) · State
- Year levels
- 7–13
- Total roll
- 573
- Enrolment zone
- Yes
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- Bickerstaffe Road, Maungaturoto
- Territorial authority
- Kaipara District
- Phone
- 09-4318230
- ohs@otamatea.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Northland
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
- 8.50am
School starts at 8.50am each day and finishes at 3.30pm each day except for Wednesday when the school finishes at 2.00pm.
- 8.50am
- School day ends
- 3.30pm, except Wednesday 2.00pm
School starts at 8.50am each day and finishes at 3.30pm each day except for Wednesday when the school finishes at 2.00pm.
- 3.30pm, except Wednesday 2.00pm
- Uniform
- Required
Shirt/Blouse – Button-up blue blouse/shirt with school logo Jersey – Royal blue V-neck jersey with school logo
- Required
- Getting there
- Otamatea High School bus services are managed and run by Easybus on behalf of local schools, delivered by Leabourn Passenger Services and funded by the Ministry of Education
Otamatea High School bus services are managed and run by Easybus on behalf of our local schools, with the services delivered by Leabourn Passenger Services. Funding for our bus services is provided by the Ministry of Education.
- Otamatea High School bus services are managed and run by Easybus on behalf of local schools, delivered by Leabourn Passenger Services and funded by the Ministry of Education
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
Otamatea High School warmly welcomes students from around the world, offering personalised learning programmes and opportunities to excel in academic, sporting, and cultural activities.
- 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
- William Pike Challenge Award
The William Pike Challenge Award is a structured programme geared at helping Year 7 and 8 students achieve their personal best.
- Ōtamatea Kapa Haka - Te Tini o Kaipara
Welcome to Ōtamatea Kapa Haka - Te Tini o Kaipara.
- William Pike Challenge Award
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 473
- Māori
- 200
- Pacific
- 27
- Asian
- 43
- MELAA
- 12
- Other
- 2
- 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 | 30 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 61 | 0 | 74 |
| Year 08 | 40 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 77 | 0 | 92 |
| Year 09 | 32 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 91 | 0 | 105 |
| Year 10 | 38 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 93 | 0 | 111 |
| Year 11 | 42 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 87 | 0 | 113 |
| Year 12 | 26 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 71 | 0 | 85 |
| Year 13+ | 19 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 61 |
| Total | 227 | 32 | 47 | 13 | 3 | 530 | 0 | 641 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 11 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 0 | 56 |
| Age 12 | 38 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 76 | 0 | 89 |
| Age 13 | 33 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 83 | 0 | 97 |
| Age 14 | 42 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 102 | 0 | 122 |
| Age 15 | 38 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 0 | 108 |
| Age 16 | 29 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 71 | 0 | 89 |
| Age 17 | 22 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 0 | 67 |
| Age 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 11 |
| Age 19+ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 227 | 32 | 47 | 13 | 3 | 530 | 0 | 641 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Academic results
Percentage with NCEA level 1 or above — 2025
92%
| Otamatea High School | 92% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 82.3% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 89.6% |
| State: Not integrated | 83.6% |
| New Zealand | 85.2% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 90% |
|---|---|
| Male | 93.6% |
| Māori | 88.5% |
| Pacific | 100% |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 93.1% |
| Total | 92% |
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
77%
| Otamatea High School | 77% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 72.1% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 83.3% |
| State: Not integrated | 75.4% |
| New Zealand | 77.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 82.5% |
|---|---|
| Male | 72.3% |
| Māori | 69.2% |
| Pacific | 62.5% |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 80.6% |
| Total | 77% |
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
43.7%
| Otamatea High School | 43.7% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 48.3% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 64.5% |
| State: Not integrated | 55.2% |
| New Zealand | 59% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 60% |
|---|---|
| Male | 29.8% |
| Māori | 46.2% |
| Pacific | 25% |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 45.8% |
| Total | 43.7% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 3 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with VP Award — 2025
35.6%
| Otamatea High School | 35.6% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 16.8% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 14.7% |
| State: Not integrated | 14.4% |
| New Zealand | 14.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 52.5% |
|---|---|
| Male | 21.3% |
| Māori | 34.6% |
| Pacific | 25% |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 37.5% |
| Total | 35.6% |
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
75.9%
| Otamatea High School | 75.9% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 72.9% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 83.1% |
| State: Not integrated | 81.4% |
| New Zealand | 83% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 85% |
|---|---|
| Male | 68.1% |
| Māori | 73.1% |
| Pacific | 62.5% |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 79.2% |
| Total | 75.9% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison trend data (2023-2025)
— 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)
— 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
77.4%
| Otamatea High School | 77.4% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 52% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 43.4% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 62.8% |
|---|---|
| Male | 89% |
| Māori | 137% |
| Pacific | 74% |
| Asian | 27.3% |
| Other | 41% |
| European/Pākehā | 61.6% |
| Total | 77.4% |
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
4.8%
| Otamatea High School | 4.8% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 6.5% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 4.6% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 3.6% |
|---|---|
| Male | 5.8% |
| Māori | 11.6% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 5.8% |
| Total | 4.8% |
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
4.7%
| Otamatea High School | 4.7% |
|---|---|
| Northland Region | 2.7% |
| Secondary (Year 7-15) | 2% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 4.3% |
|---|---|
| Male | 5% |
| Māori | 10.6% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 5.7% |
| Total | 4.7% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison exclusion data (2024)
About the school
- Equity Index (EQI)
- 480
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural other
- Date opened
- 31 December 1965
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
- 10 November 2023
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board did not attest to all areas (10 November 2023)
Areas the board did not attest to, in ERO’s words: Personnel Management. The report says what that meant and what happened next.
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 10 November 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.
The board has identified the following areas of non-compliance during the board assurance process:
an annual assessment of the principal against all the professional standards for principals has not been completed.
[NZ Education Gazette: and relevant employment agreement]
The board has since taken steps to address the area 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 573 — 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.
July 2017
389
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 22 September 2017
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 10 November 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 Otamatea High 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
Otamatea High School is a co-educational school, catering for students in Years 7 to 13 located in the rural township of Maungaturoto . The school's whakatauki ‘ He waka eke noa ’ represents the clear message that the whole community has a role to play in preparing students for the future. This is supported by the school’s vision statement ‘ Kia mataara ki te ao ’ (ready for the world) and guided by the WAKA values of Whanaungatanga, Ako, Kaitiakitanga and Aroha .
Otamatea High School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
Māori students achieve success as Māori
a well-resourced teaching and learning environment
improvement in student engagement and achievement
schoolwide pedagogical practices improve
community communication and engagement increases
schoolwide wellbeing improves.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Otamatea High School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how the school can increase equity through transforming classroom practices by creating a culturally sustaining context for learning.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is to improve:
engagement and achievement for all ākonga with particular focus on Māori students
lesson delivery and content by creating effective learning relationships within the classroom.
The school expects to see attendance and retention improving for all students, particularly for Māori , leading to improved educational outcomes for all.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to increase equity through transforming classroom practices:
a cohesive, collaborative teaching staff who are committed to improving outcomes for all
a focus on promoting a positive school culture where students feel safe and supported
school commitment to Te Tiriti O Waitangi by practicing and developing the use of te reo and tikanga Māori .
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
professional development for teaching staff to improve relational teaching and learning practices
Māori student success through consultation with whānau , and the wider Māori community.
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
10 November 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).