Last updated October 2026
Carlton School is a state, co-educational primary school for Years 1 to 6 at 99A Carlton Avenue, Whanganui. It opened in 1957 and had 265 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes all of Pūtiki, and parts of College Estate, Springvale, Tawhero, Marybank, Gonville and Whanganui Central; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school’s site describes a whole-school curriculum founded in a Māori worldview, single-cell and composite classes, daily fitness for the whole school, and sports teams including volleyball, touch and T-ball, plus a swimming programme in its indoor pool that runs all year. Lunch is provided every school day through the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme.
At a glance
- Principal
- Gary Johnston
- Address
- 99A Carlton Avenue, Whanganui
- Phone
- 06 345 0336
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Pūtiki.
Parts of College Estate Whanganui, Springvale Whanganui, Tawhero Whanganui, Marybank, Gonville Whanganui and Whanganui Central: 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 265 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 Report from October 2025. ERO found that good quality teaching is improving progress, with a large majority of students at or above the expected level in reading and maths and a small majority in writing, where results are not yet equitable across groups.
A small majority of students attend regularly, which leaves the school behind the government target, although attendance is improving and chronic absence is falling.
ERO highlighted well-targeted support for students who need extra help in literacy and maths, inclusive partnerships with whānau, a structured literacy approach that is well established in the junior classes, relevant professional learning for teachers, and a board that responds to resourcing requests.
ERO’s key priorities are to lift regular attendance, deepen staff understanding of the changes to curriculum and assessment, carry the structured literacy approach on into the senior classes, make the maths approach consistent across the school, and ask students, parents and whānau for feedback to judge how curriculum changes are affecting wellbeing and progress.
Read the ERO reports for Carlton School
Enrolling
Students who live in the home zone have the right to enrol, and the school encourages in-zone families to complete its online enrolment form early. Out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places, and the school posts out-of-zone enrolment information on its website each year.
New entrants start school in groups at set points each term, after a series of pre-school visits.
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 Tawhero Whanganui
Carlton School is in Tawhero Whanganui. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Tawhero Whanganui guide →Questions parents ask
Is Carlton School zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Pūtiki and parts of College Estate Whanganui, Springvale Whanganui, Tawhero Whanganui, Marybank, Gonville Whanganui and Whanganui Central.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 6.
How many students go there?
265 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?
507. 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).