Wakanui School
Full Primary · State
- Year levels
- 1–8
- Total roll
- 94
- Enrolment zone
- Yes
- Gender
- Co-Educational
Where is it, and how do I get in touch?
- Address
- Wakanui School Road, Ashburton
- Territorial authority
- Ashburton District
- Phone
- 03-3023899
- office@wakanui.school.nz
- Website
- http://www.wakanui.school.nz
- Directions
- Get directions
Other schools nearby: schools in Canterbury
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
- 8:45
| 8:45-9:00 | Admin (15 mins) | Classes commence |
- 8:45
- Uniform
- Required
The uniform is compulsory and can be purchased in full from [Tots to Teens](https://totstoteens.nz/collections/wakanui-school)
- Required
- Where to buy the uniform
- https://totstoteens.nz/collections/wakanui-school
The uniform is compulsory and can be purchased in full from [Tots to Teens](https://totstoteens.nz/collections/wakanui-school)
- https://totstoteens.nz/collections/wakanui-school
- Term dates
- Term 1, 2026: Monday 2nd February – Thursday 2nd April
Term 1 | Monday 2nd February | Thursday 2nd April
Year stated asTerm Dates - 2026
- Term 2, 2026: Monday 20th April – Friday 3rd July
Term 2 | Monday 20th April | Friday 3rd July
Year stated asTerm Dates - 2026
- Term 3, 2026: Monday 20th July – Friday 25th September
Term 3 | Monday 20th July | Friday 25th September
Year stated asTerm Dates - 2026
- Term 4, 2026: Monday 12th October – Tuesday 15th December
Term 4 | Monday 12th October | Tuesday 15th December
Year stated asTerm Dates - 2026
- Term 1, 2026: Monday 2nd February – Thursday 2nd April
- Getting there
- Bus transport managed by the Mid Canterbury School Transport Service, phone 03 307 2420
Our bus transport is managed by the [Mid Canterbury School Transport Service](https://mcsts.co.nz/) You can contact them on 03 307 2420.
- Bus transport managed by the Mid Canterbury School Transport Service, phone 03 307 2420
Who goes here?
Ethnicity breakdown of the total roll, shown as context. Not ranked, and not compared against any average.
- European
- 86
- Māori
- 0
- Pacific
- 0
- Asian
- 7
- MELAA
- 1
- 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 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 11 |
| Year 02 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 17 |
| Year 03 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 12 |
| Year 04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 17 |
| Year 05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 16 |
| Year 06 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 15 |
| Year 07 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| Year 08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 89 | 0 | 103 |
| Māori | Pacific | Asian | MELAA | Other | European/ Pākehā | International students | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 05 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| Age 06 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 14 |
| Age 07 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 17 |
| Age 08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 16 |
| Age 09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 17 |
| Age 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 14 |
| Age 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
| Age 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 89 | 0 | 103 |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0
Student engagement
Age-standardised stand-down rate per 1,000 students — 2024
0%
| Wakanui School | 0% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 38.3% |
| Full Primary | 35.6% |
| State | 40.2% |
| New Zealand | 37.1% |
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 stand-down rates data (2024)
Age-standardised suspension rate per 1,000 students — 2024
56.6%
| Wakanui School | 56.6% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 3.7% |
| Full Primary | 3.9% |
| State | 4.5% |
| New Zealand | 4.1% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 195.7% |
| Māori | Too few to report |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 0% |
| Total | 56.6% |
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
28.8%
| Wakanui School | 28.8% |
|---|---|
| Canterbury Region | 1.7% |
| Full Primary | 1.7% |
| State | 1.9% |
| New Zealand | 1.8% |
Trend and demographic breakdown
| Female | 0% |
|---|---|
| Male | 98.9% |
| Māori | Too few to report |
| Pacific | Too few to report |
| Asian | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| European/Pākehā | 0% |
| Total | 28.8% |
Source: Education Counts, Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0 — Table 2: Comparison exclusion data (2024)
About the school
- Equity Index (EQI)
- 415
- Boarding
- No
- Language of instruction
- All students taught in English/other setting
- Urban / rural
- Rural other
- Date opened
- 25 January 1876
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
- 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 94 — 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.
August 2019
121
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 11 October 2019
October 2015
116
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 2 December 2015
June 2012
67
Counted while ERO’s review team was at the school. Education Review Office, report of 22 August 2012
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 14 months of the Education Review Office and Wakanui 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
Wakanui School is a full primary school located in Mid Canterbury which provides education for learners from years 1 to 8. Learning is guided by the school’s values of respect | whakaute , resilience | manahau , responsibility | kawenga , and excellence | hiranga . Since mid-2022, the school has been led by a first-time principal who is a long-serving staff member at Wakanui School.
Wakanui School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are:
that all students experience success through challenge, choice, striving for excellence, and seeking feedback to further improve outcomes
the use of effective inquiry, programme, policy, and pedagogy to effectively meet identified goals.
A copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan is available on request from Wakanui School.
ERO and the school are working together to evaluate the impact of its revised, localised curriculum on student achievement and engagement.
The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:
the school has identified the need to develop a coherent, localised curriculum which aligns with the refreshed national curriculum
to broaden and embed contemporary teaching and learning practices.
The school expects to see:
a quality, contemporary, localised, and relevant curriculum developed and implemented
improved learning outcomes and engagement across the curriculum, particularly for those identified as needing to make accelerated progress.
Strengths
The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goal to evaluate the impact of its revised, localised curriculum on student achievement and engagement.
student achievement data is collaboratively analysed, used to identify priority learners, and to inform planning
professional learning is strategically prioritised, then collaboratively adapted and contextualised to the school
a completed audit of current curriculum coverage has signalled areas for development.
Where to next?
Moving forward, the school will prioritise:
developing teachers’ skills to provide specific and constructive feedback and feed forward for learning so students and their whānau can contribute to setting relevant, challenging, achievable goals
professional learning to broaden capabilities and build shared understanding of contemporary, future-focused teaching practices
continuing to develop a localised curriculum, focused on competencies and concepts, which develops deep thinking in students leading to improved achievement and equity.
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 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).