Last updated October 2026
Whanganui City College is a state, co-educational secondary school for Years 9 to 13 at 84 Ingestre Street, Whanganui. It opened in 1911 and had 284 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. Its site describes an inquiry-based, place-based curriculum with a schoolwide focus on literacy and numeracy, multi-level classes and NCEA in Years 11 to 13, plus a Service Academy for Year 12 and 13 students that combines core subjects with fitness training, marching and military skills, and coaching for Defence Force-style recruit tests.
Outside class there is a wide range of sports including waka ama and horse riding, music lessons, contemporary dance, a hip hop crew and the kapa haka group Te Roopu o Punawai.
At a glance
- Principal
- David Cooke (Acting)
- Address
- 84 Ingestre Street, Whanganui
- Phone
- 06 349 0180
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 284 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.
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 November 2025. ERO found the school had made limited progress since its previous review.
A new senior leadership team has brought in one consistent way of assessing reading and mathematics in Years 9 and 10, made English and mathematics compulsory in those years after finding the junior curriculum had left out key learning areas, and is starting to use data to set goals.
ERO judged that lifting achievement is urgent: fewer than a third of students gain NCEA Level 1, very few gain University Entrance, under half of Year 9 and 10 students are at expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics, and only about a third of students attend regularly.
ERO’s priorities are urgent action on attendance, engagement and achievement, and strategic and annual plans with measurable targets to improve teaching, learning support and access to the full curriculum in Years 9 and 10.
ERO recommended that the Secretary for Education consider intervention to keep supporting the school and extend the role of its limited statutory manager, covering leadership and governance, planning, curriculum and teacher professional learning.
Read the ERO reports for Whanganui City College
Enrolling
The school has no home zone, so any student can apply. Families download the enrolment forms from the school’s enrolment page, and every new student has an enrolment interview with the principal or a member of the leadership team.
Schools nearby
In Whanganui Central
Whanganui City College is in Whanganui Central. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Questions parents ask
Is Whanganui City College 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?
284 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.
How did its school leavers do in NCEA?
In 2025, 53.6% 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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