Last updated October 2026
Gisborne Boys’ High School is a state, boys’ secondary school for Years 9 to 13 at 80 Stanley Road, Gisborne. It opened in 1909 and had 790 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. Its site lists sports codes ranging from rowing, surfing, water polo and clay target shooting to ki-o-rahi, and a Project 100 programme that aims to have every Year 9 and 10 student involved in at least one school sport or recreation activity.
International students join a small international form class, can take English language support classes and live with school-approved homestay families, and the school lists facilities for whakairo (Māori carving), art and trades.
At a glance
- Principal
- Tom Cairns
- Address
- 80 Stanley Road, Gisborne
- Phone
- 06 868 8159
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.
NCEA results
School leavers with NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with all New Zealand school leavers.
This school New Zealand
School leavers are students who left school that year, whatever year level they left from.
Who goes here
Share of the 790 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
8 international students
MELAA: Middle Eastern, Latin American and African.
Stand-downs and suspensions
Cases per 1,000 students in 2025, adjusted for the ages of the school’s students, compared with all New Zealand schools.
Suspensions: fewer than 5 cases in 2025, so no rate is shown.
These measure how a school responds to behaviour, and schools set their own thresholds, so they are not a measure of how students behave.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a School Profile Report from November 2023, written under ERO’s Te Ara Huarau improvement approach. The evaluation looks at how well teaching meets students’ cultural, identity and learning needs, with a particular focus on Māori and Pacific students.
ERO pointed to leaders who put equity for Māori, Pacific and other priority learners at the centre of improvement, staff who are building their capability in te ao Māori and te reo Māori, leaders who seek the views of students, whānau and iwi, and well-developed systems for tracking attendance, engagement, retention and achievement.
Next, the school plans to build two-way relationships with whānau, hapū, iwi and the wider community so they help shape the curriculum, and to keep up professional learning so that teaching, including in literacy and numeracy, becomes stronger and more consistent.
Read the ERO reports for Gisborne Boys’ High School
Enrolling
Gisborne Boys’ High School has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
The school’s enrolment page has the enrolment form and the school prospectus. International students apply through a separate process with the school’s international department, which also arranges homestay placements with host families the school has approved.
Schools nearby
In Te Hāpara
Gisborne Boys' High School is in Te Hāpara. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Te Hāpara guide →Questions parents ask
Is Gisborne Boys' High School zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 9 to 13.
How many students go there?
790 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?
486. 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.
Is it a single-sex school?
Yes. It takes boys only.
How did its school leavers do in NCEA?
In 2025, 74.2% of its school leavers had NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with 77.8% of all New Zealand school leavers.
School details and roll: Ministry of Education school directory, 22 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). Updated automatically when the Ministry publishes new data.
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