Last updated October 2026
Ngatapa School is a state, co-educational full primary school for Years 1 to 8 at 1590 Wharekopae Road, Gisborne. It opened in 1911 and had 9 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. Its site has pages for a junior class and a senior class and describes a localised curriculum, a three-day noho at Pakowhai Marae and a gymnastics programme. It also lists digital technologies resources for students, including coding tools such as Scratch and MakeCode Arcade.
At a glance
- Principal
- Cheryl Johnston
- Address
- 1590 Wharekopae Road, Gisborne
- Phone
- 06 863 9878
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.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a School Report from September 2025. ERO found that success and progress are increasing for all learners and that high quality teaching is lifting progress in reading, writing and maths.
A large majority of learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level in reading and in maths, and a small majority in writing, with results becoming more equitable across groups.
A large majority attend regularly, and the school is approaching the government’s attendance target. ERO described an inclusive setting where teachers hold high expectations and students feel they belong, a structured literacy approach already in place with a structured maths approach being introduced, a curriculum tied to local contexts and iwi connections, and parents who are kept well informed.
The agreed priorities are to check the school curriculum against the national curriculum and assessment changes, embed structured maths teaching across the school, keep building teachers’ skills in speeding up progress in writing, make better use of data to understand the needs of different groups of learners, and lift regular attendance.
Read the ERO reports for Ngatapa School
Enrolling
The school has no enrolment zone, so any student can apply. The school’s home page links to an online enrolment form.
Schools nearby
Where students go next
Based on home zones around the school’s own address. Families can apply to any school, and your own address decides which zones you are in.
In Ngātapa
Ngatapa School is in Ngātapa. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Ngātapa guide →Questions parents ask
Is Ngatapa 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?
9 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?
456. 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).