Last updated October 2026
St Marcellin School is a state-integrated, co-educational full primary school for Years 1 to 8 at Totara Street, Whanganui. It opened in 1983 and had 53 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. Its site describes inquiry-based learning across the curriculum, Chromebooks in classrooms, a te reo Māori programme across the school with pōwhiri and marae visits, and trips to places of interest. The school runs the Bikes in Schools programme, with Fridays set aside as wheels days.
At a glance
- Principal
- Belinda Backwell
- Address
- Totara Street, Whanganui
- Phone
- 06 349 0023
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 53 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 Te Ara Huarau School Profile Report from April 2024. This kind of report sets out what ERO and the school will evaluate together, here whether assessment information is reliable, useful and well understood enough to support each learner’s progress.
ERO noted a new permanent principal from the start of 2023 and an elected school board now in place, and pointed to a supportive environment grounded in the school’s special character that celebrates diversity, a committed community that shares its skills, and systems that increasingly support good teaching.
Next, the school plans to bring in outside expertise to build teachers’ skill with assessment, use assessment information to guide teaching decisions, and work with learners and whānau to plan each learner’s pathway.
Read the ERO reports for St Marcellin School (Wanganui)
Enrolling
As a state-integrated Catholic school, St Marcellin gives preference to families with a connection to the Catholic faith, confirmed through the parish priest as the proprietor’s agent.
A limited number of non-preference places are offered, with priority for siblings of non-preference students, children of staff and students moving from another Catholic integrated school, and a waiting list when places are full. Attendance dues set by the proprietor, the Diocese of Palmerston North, apply.
Families make an appointment with the principal to enrol and tour the school, and the forms are on the school’s enrolment page.
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
St Marcellin School (Wanganui) 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 St Marcellin School (Wanganui) zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 8.
How many students go there?
53 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?
504. 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). 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).