Stirling School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 80
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 2 Boyd Street, Stirling
- Territorial authority
- Clutha District
- Phone
- 027-429 9272
- principal@stirling.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Otago
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 43
- Māori
- 25
- Pacific
- 20
- Asian
- 11
- 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 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 15 |
| Year 02 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| Year 03 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 13 |
| Year 04 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| Year 05 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Year 06 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| Year 07 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 11 |
| Year 08 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| Total | 21 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 82 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 15 |
| Age 06 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
| Age 07 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 14 |
| Age 08 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| Age 09 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Age 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| Age 11 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 11 |
| Age 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Age 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 21 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 82 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
30.1%
| Stirling School | 30.1% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 36.8% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 45.9% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 45.8% |
| Total | 30.1% |
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%
| Stirling School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 4.6% |
| 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%
| Stirling School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 2% |
| 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)
- 469
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural settlement
- Date opened
- 25 January 1879
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
- 4
- Last reviewed
- 1 August 2023
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (1 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 1 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 80 — 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 2018
28
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 16 October 2018
July 2014
27
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 5 September 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 1 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 Stirling 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
Stirling School is a small, rural primary school in South Otago, near Balclutha. It provides education for students from Years 1 – 8. The school’s mission is to provide a stimulating learning environment where all students build self-belief and courage, so that they can experience success as individuals.
Stirling School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:
implement Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) to minimise behavioural issues to enable a greater focus on teaching and learning
adopt a structured literacy approach to enhance literacy learning outcomes for all students, especially those not yet meeting achievement expectations in reading and writing.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Stirling School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate how effectively the structured literacy approach is improving reading and writing outcomes for all students, with a particular focus on the progress of students not yet meeting achievement expectations.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
leaders have identified an aspiration to develop a cohesive literacy curriculum that is more responsive to the learning needs of all students
the school is part of the Big River Kāhui Ako, which has chosen to adopt the IDEAL platform for structured literacy across the network of schools.
The school expects to see:
teachers continuing to reflect and refine their teaching practices in response to learners’ needs and their growing knowledge of structured literacy
improved reading and writing outcomes for all students, especially those students not yet meeting achievement expectations.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support the school in its goal to evaluate how effectively the structured literacy approach is improving reading and writing outcomes for all students:
Teachers are open to new ways of working and have personal learning goals that are based around adapting their practice to accommodate the structured literacy approach.
The school is working well with the kāhui ako to drive improvements to the curriculum, including upskilling teachers in effective strategies for literacy teaching and assessment for learning.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
professional learning for leaders and teachers to understand and make effective use of students’ progress and achievement information in literacy to purposefully plan for and monitor improving outcomes for students
developing and documenting a shared understanding of effective teaching strategies to provide clarity and guidance for teachers to ensure a responsive literacy curriculum
communicating with the community to ensure the school’s new approach to literacy learning is well understood by whānau , to strengthen and inform their engagement with the learning process and increase support for students’ literacy learning at home.
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
1 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 4 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).