Last updated November 2026
Whanganui East School is a state, co-educational primary school for Years 1 to 6 at Patapu Street, Whanganui East, Whanganui. It opened in 1904 and had 167 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. The school’s website describes a local curriculum, He Waka Eke Noa, with te ao Māori woven through learning and partnerships with whānau and local iwi. It also lists learning support, sport, and education outside the classroom such as camps and trips to the Whanganui Regional Museum and Bushy Park.
At a glance
- Principal
- Eleanore Barry
- Address
- Patapu Street, Whanganui East, Whanganui
- Phone
- 06 343 8054
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 167 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.
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 Evaluation Report from July 2024. ERO found that learners, including Māori learners, make sustained progress, a large majority achieve at expected levels in reading, writing and maths, and attendance was trending upward.
Children with additional or complex needs are identified early and closely tracked. Leaders, trustees and staff work closely together, the local curriculum reflects learners’ identity and culture, and partnerships with whānau, iwi and community groups support learning and transitions.
The agreed next steps are to tie targets for learners still working towards expected levels, and wellbeing actions, into teachers’ inquiry work; to give staff further professional learning on helping students talk about their own progress and next steps; and to carry out the school’s Poutama Reo action plan to grow te reo Māori learning.
Read the ERO reports for Whanganui East School
Enrolling
The school has no home zone, so any child can apply. Families enrol directly with the school, which provides its forms and lists the documents needed, such as proof of age and an immunisation certificate. Children starting school can make several classroom visits to the new entrant class beforehand.
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 Whanganui East
Whanganui East School is in Whanganui East. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Questions parents ask
Is Whanganui East School zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 6.
How many students go there?
167 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?
547. 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).