Vardon School
Contributing · State
- Year levels
- 1–6
- Total roll
- 351
- Enrolment zone
- Yes
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- 36 Cunningham Road, Beerescourt, Hamilton
- Territorial authority
- Hamilton City
- Phone
- 07-8492451
- office@vardon.school.nz
- Website
- http://www.vardon.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Hamilton · schools in Waikato
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.
- Uniform
- Required
Reminders about our school uniform expectations will be sent home if students are observed in the incorrect uniform.
- Required
- Term dates
- Term 1, 2026: Wed 4 February - Thursday 2 April
Wed 4 February - Thursday 2 April
Year stated asTerm Dates 2026
- Term 2, 2026: Monday 20 April - Friday 3 July
Monday 20 April - Friday 3 July
Year stated asTerm Dates 2026
- Term 3, 2026: Monday 20 July - Thursday 24 Sep
Monday 20 July - Thursday 24 Sep
Year stated asTerm Dates 2026
- Term 4, 2026: Monday 12 October - Wednesday 16 Dec
Monday 12 October - Wednesday 16 Dec
Year stated asTerm Dates 2026
- Term 1, 2026: Wed 4 February - Thursday 2 April
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 150
- Māori
- 150
- Pacific
- 59
- Asian
- 54
- MELAA
- 19
- Other
- 1
- 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 | 21 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 27 | 0 | 56 |
| Year 02 | 34 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 73 |
| Year 03 | 24 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 64 |
| Year 04 | 24 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 28 | 0 | 52 |
| Year 05 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 51 |
| Year 06 | 24 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 0 | 72 |
| Year 07 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Total | 151 | 61 | 51 | 18 | 7 | 188 | 0 | 373 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 51 |
| Age 06 | 31 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 65 |
| Age 07 | 23 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 64 |
| Age 08 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 30 | 0 | 60 |
| Age 09 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 50 |
| Age 10 | 29 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 41 | 0 | 76 |
| Age 11 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| Total | 151 | 61 | 51 | 18 | 7 | 188 | 0 | 373 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
73.1%
| Vardon School | 73.1% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 53.9% |
| Contributing | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 17.2% |
|---|---|
| Male | 123.1% |
| Māori | 0% |
| Pacific | 214.6% |
| Asian | 51.3% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 96.9% |
| Total | 73.1% |
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%
| Vardon School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 6.6% |
| Contributing | 3.5% |
| 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%
| Vardon School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Waikato Region | 2.4% |
| Contributing | 1.5% |
| 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)
- 474
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Major urban area
- Date opened
- 30 September 1956
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
- 19 July 2023
- Latest report
- Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report
- Report type
- Profile report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (19 July 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 19 July 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.
What ERO wrote in its latest report
This is ERO’s report of 19 July 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 Vardon 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
Vardon School is located in the Hamilton suburb of St Andrews, within the boundaries of Ngāti Hauā . It caters for students in Years 1 to 6. The established leadership team continues in the role. A new board has recently been elected.
Vardon School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are to:
develop culturally responsive learners who live our vision and values by supporting Māori students to succeed as Māori
enhance and extend the professional capabilities of our staff by developing teacher leadership capabilities
continue to strengthen effective learning for our students by embedding the localised curriculum.
You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Vardon School’s website.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the extent to which new approaches to the teaching of literacy are embedded in classroom programmes to improve outcomes for all.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
to continue to develop evidence-based practice to accelerate student progress and raise achievement for all students
to improve the consistency of teaching and learning practice across the school.
The school expects to see a greater number of students making accelerated progress in literacy, especially those at risk of underachieving.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support this evaluation:
the collation and use of assessment data to identify those students who are at risk of underachieving and their specific learning needs
a robust curriculum that provides clear expectations and support for teacher practice
a positive and caring culture for learning.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
ensuring that all teachers follow the scope and sequence of the new literacy framework
adapting the school’s assessment systems to new literacy expectations.
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
19 July 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).