Waitaki Girls' High School
Secondary (Year 9-15) · State
- Year levels
- 9–13
- Total roll
- 396
- Enrolment zone
- No
- Gender
- Girls School
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- Trent Street, Oamaru
- Territorial authority
- Waitaki District
- Phone
- 03-4348429
- office@waitakigirlshigh.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Otago
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
Students must wear the correct uniform at all times.
- Required
- Where to buy the uniform
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.
- In their words
- Our Values
- Dulcius ex Ardius: Satisfaction from hard work – Ma Mahi Kia Ora
- Our Mission
- Inspiring Personal Excellence in Learning and Life
- Our Mantra
- The Waitaki Way: Respectful, Responsible, Resilient
- International students
- Accepted, as stated
High School warmly welcomes international students.
- 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
- Multisport
- Netball
- Rowing
- Rugby Union
- Smallbore rifle
- Squash
- Swimming
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
- Touch
- Trapshooting
- Volleyball
- adventure racing
Also opportunities to compete in adventure racing.
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 317
- Māori
- 57
- Pacific
- 49
- Asian
- 33
- MELAA
- 5
- Other
- 3
- International
- 1
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 09 | 18 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 0 | 96 |
| Year 10 | 17 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 83 | 0 | 99 |
| Year 11 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 65 | 1 | 76 |
| Year 12 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 2 | 62 |
| Year 13+ | 3 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 53 | 1 | 73 |
| Total | 52 | 52 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 332 | 4 | 406 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 13 | 17 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 0 | 85 |
| Age 14 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 78 | 0 | 91 |
| Age 15 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 69 | 0 | 79 |
| Age 16 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 3 | 59 |
| Age 17 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 58 | 1 | 79 |
| Age 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 12 |
| Age 19+ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 52 | 52 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 332 | 4 | 406 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Academic results
Percentage with NCEA level 1 or above — 2025
94%
| Waitaki Girls' High School | 94% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 90.7% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 88% |
| State: Not integrated | 83.6% |
| New Zealand | 85.2% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 94% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not applicable |
| Māori | 71.4% |
| Pacific | 100% |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 93.9% |
| Total | 94% |
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
89.3%
| Waitaki Girls' High School | 89.3% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 84.8% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 81% |
| State: Not integrated | 75.4% |
| New Zealand | 77.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 89.3% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not applicable |
| Māori | 42.9% |
| Pacific | 92.9% |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 87.9% |
| Total | 89.3% |
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
70.2%
| Waitaki Girls' High School | 70.2% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 65.5% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 61.8% |
| State: Not integrated | 55.2% |
| New Zealand | 59% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 70.2% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not applicable |
| Māori | 14.3% |
| Pacific | 64.3% |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 68.2% |
| Total | 70.2% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison NCEA level 3 data (2023-2025)
Percentage with VP Award — 2025
22.6%
| Waitaki Girls' High School | 22.6% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 20.4% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 15.2% |
| State: Not integrated | 14.4% |
| New Zealand | 14.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 22.6% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not applicable |
| Māori | 14.3% |
| Pacific | 21.4% |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 24.2% |
| Total | 22.6% |
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
85.7%
| Waitaki Girls' High School | 85.7% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 85.3% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 83.5% |
| State: Not integrated | 81.4% |
| New Zealand | 83% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 85.7% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not applicable |
| Māori | 57.1% |
| Pacific | 92.9% |
| Asian | Too few to report |
| MELAA | Too few to report |
| Other | Not applicable |
| European/Pākehā | 83.3% |
| Total | 85.7% |
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
38.7%
| Waitaki Girls' High School | 38.7% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 36.8% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 35.8% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 38.7% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Māori | 171.9% |
| Pacific | 15.1% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 31.3% |
| Total | 38.7% |
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
5.3%
| Waitaki Girls' High School | 5.3% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 4.6% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 4% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 5.3% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| Māori | 18% |
| Pacific | 0% |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 4.8% |
| Total | 5.3% |
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%
| Waitaki Girls' High School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Otago Region | 2% |
| Secondary (Year 9-15) | 1.7% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | Not available (source marker: "nd") |
| 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)
- 478
- Boarding
- Yes
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Medium urban area
- Date opened
- 16 October 1887
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
- 6
- Last reviewed
- 28 February 2025
- Latest report
- School Evaluation Report
- Report type
- Evaluation report
- Board assurance
- The board attested to all areas (28 February 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 28 February 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:
The school needs to check a primary identity document and a secondary identity document, required for safety checking of workforce [Children’s Act 2024] .
The board has since addressed the 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 396 — 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.
June 2019
402
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 8 August 2019
March 2016
419
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 25 May 2016
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 28 February 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
Waitaki Girls’ High School is a state, single sex school located in Ōamaru . The school offers education for students in Years 9 to 13, including international students and boarding accommodation. The school’s motto is Dulcius ex Ardius: Satisfaction from hard work – Ma Mahi Kia Ora , with The Waitaki Way: Respectful, Responsible, Resilient .
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.
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
Most learners are engaged and achieve well although there is variability for groups of learners within this.
Most learners in Year 9 are achieving at or above expected curriculum levels in literacy and mathematics; in Year 10 less than half are at or above the expected curriculum levels in literacy and a small majority in mathematics.
Most Year 11, 12 and 13 learners achieve National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) at Levels 1, 2 and 3; this varies for both Māori and Pacific learners.
Many students report a strong sense of belonging in a positive school environment; the voice of Māori students is more varied.
Less than half of the learners are presently attending regularly so the school is not meeting the Government target for regular attendance; improving regular attendance is a school priority.
Conditions to support learner success
Leadership is taking steps to foster a culture committed to inclusive and quality teaching for all learners across the diversity of the school.
Leaders are strengthening relational trust and effective collaboration at every level of the school community to achieve the strategic vision and improvement goals.
Leaders are taking steps to refine systems for closely reviewing school programmes and initiatives to inform decision making for increased learner engagement.
Leaders prioritise professional learning for staff that enhances consistency of effective and responsive teaching practice to improve outcomes for learners.
Many teachers use a range of effective teaching strategies and a relevant curriculum to engage the diversity of learners.
Leaders and teachers are working towards establishing schoolwide consistency in effective responsive and inclusive teaching to support learners’ engagement in learning.
Learners experience classroom environments that are welcoming and relational with clear expectations and routines for learning.
Learners engage and participate in meaningful learning opportunities and confidently articulate the purpose and expectations of teaching and learning programmes.
The school is developing systems, structures and practices that underpin successful learner outcomes for all learners across the diversity of the school.
Some school systems, processes and practices for effectively supporting attendance, engagement and achievement are not yet consistently implemented.
Leaders and teachers prioritise the induction of new staff and targeted professional development to support high-quality teaching and learning across the curriculum.
Board members clearly know their stewardship role and responsibility; they value the analysis of data to ensure resourcing and decision-making is responding to learners' needs.
Leaders are planning for the continued development and integration of te ao Māori learning opportunities throughout the curriculum and building on teacher confidence and capability in te reo and mātauranga Māori .
Part B: Where to next?
The agreed next steps for the school are to:
develop and implement a schoolwide framework for responsive teaching and classroom environments that consistently supports the wide range of learner wellbeing, engagement, progress and achievement across the diversity of the school
continue the development of staff-wide distributed leadership to ensure practices that best promote learner progress and achievement are sustained
create the Waitaki GHS Graduate Profile and develop appropriate and responsive learning, leadership and social progressions leading to this
refine the present attendance systems so they are effective for the diversity of learners to increase regular attendance in line with the Government’s targets.
The agreed actions for the next improvement cycle and timeframes are as follows.
Within three months:
use learner wellbeing and engagement information from all groups of learners to clarify and begin the implementation of a schoolwide framework for responsive teaching and consistent classroom environments
use learner and community feedback to review the school’s attendance system and deepen teachers’ understanding of positive factors for increased learner attendance
leaders review the consistency of evaluation and reporting to the board on the impact of responsive strategies for improving engagement, progress and achievement for different groups of learners
Every six months:
review, evaluate and respond to Years 9 to 10 progress data, particularly in literacy and mathematics
review, evaluate and respond to Years 11 to 13 progress data and identify, track and mentor those learners who are not engaging or making expected progress towards their learning outcomes
review, evaluate and respond to learners’ experience of the application of schoolwide responsive teaching and consistent classroom environments
evaluate progress in developing and implementing the Waitaki GHS Graduate Profile
Annually:
analyse and report on attendance, progress and achievement data to evaluate the impact of the school’s initiatives, inform strategic and annual planning, and set improvement targets
review and report on the school’s relationship and partnership with iwi and Māori whānau to integrate te ao Māori learning opportunities throughout the curriculum and the implementation of consistent responsive teaching and classroom environments
leaders review how effectively staff professional learning is supporting leadership development to ensure sustainability of schoolwide systems and improved learner progress and outcomes.
Actions taken against these next steps are expected to result in:
increased rates of regular learner attendance and engagement
more cohesive action and performance against strategic goals
improved quality and consistency of teaching practices that are evidence-based, inclusive and responsive for increased learner engagement and achievement
a school-wide system for collecting, tracking and responding to progress and achievement data with regular check points for early identification of learners who are at risk of underachievement.
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 Acting Director of Schools
28 February 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 6 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).