Last updated October 2026
Sonrise Christian School is a state-integrated, co-educational composite school for Years 1 to 13 at 138 Potae Avenue, Gisborne. It opened in 1992 and had 145 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. The school teaches the New Zealand Curriculum through a Christian lens, and its local curriculum draws on iwi stories and tikanga learned with Te Rūnanga o Tūranganui a Kiwa.
Senior students can attend courses at EIT on Fridays in areas such as trades, automotive, agriculture and hospitality, and the whole school takes part in a weekly swimming programme in Terms 1 and 4.
At a glance
- Principal
- Andrew Russell
- Address
- 138 Potae Avenue, Gisborne
- Phone
- 06 868 9841
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 145 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 July 2024. ERO found a majority of learners achieving at expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and maths, though results in Years 1 to 10 were not equitable for Māori students and boys.
The few students who stay on for national qualifications gain them. Students with additional learning needs get good support and progress well, the school meets current Ministry attendance targets, and students have a strong sense of belonging within the school’s special character.
The agreed next steps are to make better use of assessment information to target support and measure its impact, grow staff capability to bring te ao Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori into the local curriculum, and strengthen systems and pathways in the senior school so more students stay engaged and stay on.
Read the ERO reports for Sonrise Christian School
Enrolling
Sonrise Christian School is state-integrated with a Christian special character. Its enrolment guidelines give preference to families who show a commitment to a Christ-centred education for their children, and only a small share of places is kept for non-preference students, who must accept the special character programme.
Attendance dues are compulsory and go to the school’s proprietor, the Gisborne Christian Education Trust, to pay for the land and buildings. The school lists the current dues and payment options on its website, and the proprietor can reduce or waive dues in cases of hardship.
Schools nearby
In Riverdale Gisborne
Sonrise Christian School is in Riverdale Gisborne. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Riverdale Gisborne guide →Questions parents ask
Is Sonrise Christian School zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 13.
How many students go there?
145 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?
480. 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.
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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).