Last updated November 2026
Potaka School is a state, co-educational full primary school for Years 1 to 8 at 7164 Te Aararoa Road, Hicks Bay. It opened in 1929 and had 45 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply.
At a glance
- Principal
- Tina Poi
- Address
- 7164 Te Aararoa Road, Hicks Bay
- Phone
- 06 864 4436
Home zone
No home zone: any student can apply to enrol. If more students apply than there are places, the school decides how places are offered.
Who goes here
Share of the 45 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
MELAA: Middle Eastern, Latin American and African.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a School Evaluation Report from August 2024. ERO found the school is working towards fair outcomes and high achievement for all learners.
In reading and maths a small majority are at the expected curriculum level, all learners are engaged, and writing data was not yet being collected, analysed and reported consistently.
Most learners are Māori with whakapapa to Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, and ERO saw a strong sense of belonging and confidence in their language, culture and identity, supported by te reo Māori, tikanga and mātauranga Māori across the curriculum.
A majority attend school regularly. Leaders are focused on quality teaching, targeted professional learning in literacy and involving whānau, while shared assessment practice and systems for using data were still being set up.
The agreed next steps are to embed assessment for learning so teaching responds to every learner, especially those most at risk of falling behind, build staff skills in analysing and using data, raise the number of learners at the expected level in reading, writing and maths, and finish developing a coherent local curriculum informed by the knowledge of local hapū and iwi, with structured literacy programmes for learners who need to catch up.
Read the ERO reports for Potaka School
Enrolling
The school has no enrolment zone, so any student can apply. Families can contact the school to ask how to enrol.
Schools nearby
In Hicks Bay
Potaka School is in Hicks Bay. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Hicks Bay guide →Questions parents ask
Is Potaka School zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 8.
How many students go there?
45 at 1 Sep 2026.
Does it ask for donations?
No. It is in the donation scheme, so it only asks for donations for school camps.
What is its Equity Index?
523. The Ministry of Education’s Equity Index estimates the socio-economic barriers a school’s students face, from 344 (fewest) to 569 (most). It is used to share out funding, not as a measure of quality.
Updated automatically when the Ministry publishes new data.
Spotted something incorrect on this page? Let us know.
Sources and data notes 1
- School facts: School details and roll: Ministry of Education school directory, 29 Oct 2026 (CC BY 4.0). NCEA results, roll history and stand-downs: Education Counts, school leavers 2023 to 2025, stand-downs 2025, rolls 2021 to 2025 (CC BY 4.0).