Last updated October 2026
Makauri School is a state, co-educational primary school for Years 1 to 6 at 120 King Road, Gisborne. It opened in 1886 and had 165 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes all of Makauri and Waerengaahika, and parts of Lytton West, Riverdale, Waihīrere, Waimatā Valley, Ormond and Mākaraka; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school’s site describes weekly kapa haka with a performance at the Turanga Kapa Haka Festival, a bike track with bikes and helmets through the Bikes in Schools programme, a solar-heated pool and a bring-your-own Chromebook option for older students.
An independent provider runs after school care at the school, and free school buses run for children who live and travel within the zone.
At a glance
- Principal
- Cambell McNaught
- Address
- 120 King Road, Gisborne
- Phone
- 06 867 5779
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Waerengaahika Gisborne and Makauri Gisborne.
Parts of Lytton West, Riverdale Gisborne, Waihīrere, Waimatā Valley, Ormond Gisborne and Mākaraka: check your street.
Zone boundaries are set by the school’s enrolment scheme and can change. Confirm your address with the school before you rely on it.
Who goes here
Share of the 165 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 November 2024. ERO found outcomes are becoming more equitable, with most learners progressing and achieving at the right curriculum level in reading, writing and maths and many above it. Learners with extra needs are well supported and making good progress.
Leadership builds a culture of high quality teaching, professional learning is lined up with the school’s goals, structured literacy teaching is growing, and staff and whānau are developing a local curriculum that brings in te ao Māori. Attendance was slightly below the Ministry of Education target overall, and attendance in Years 1 and 2 needs to improve.
The agreed next steps are to track attendance patterns and work with families on the effect of absence on learning, to build community partnerships and involve mana whenua in shaping the curriculum, which ERO found was at an early stage, to analyse achievement data more deeply for groups of students, and to gather student wellbeing information to guide classroom practice.
Read the ERO reports for Makauri School
Enrolling
Students who live in the home zone have the right to enrol. Out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places.
The school’s site says families can make an appointment with the principal to talk about enrolling, or enrol online, with the school office confirming online enrolments. It says there may be space for out-of-zone students in some year levels and asks families to contact the office.
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 Makauri Gisborne
Makauri School is in Makauri Gisborne. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Makauri Gisborne guide →Questions parents ask
Is Makauri School zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Waerengaahika Gisborne and Makauri Gisborne and parts of Lytton West, Riverdale Gisborne, Waihīrere, Waimatā Valley, Ormond Gisborne and Mākaraka.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 6.
How many students go there?
165 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?
438. 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). Home zone: Ministry of Education enrolment zones (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).