Last updated October 2026
Kai Iwi School is a state, co-educational full primary school for Years 1 to 8 at 908 State Highway 3, Kai Iwi, Whanganui. It opened in 1876 and had 95 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes parts of Kai Iwi and Westmere; the zone map below shows the full boundary. Its site describes an integrated programme built on literacy and numeracy, with digital technology, inquiry learning and a localised curriculum being developed, and a school swimming pool that the community can use in summer.
A Ministry of Education bus serves nearby rural routes, and a school-owned bus collects students from town for a small fee.
At a glance
- Principal
- Ross Harvey
- Address
- 908 State Highway 3, Kai Iwi, Whanganui
- Phone
- 06 342 9823
Home zone
Parts of these suburbs: Kai Iwi and Westmere: 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 95 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 September 2024. Since its previous review the school has focused on literacy, and ERO found the biggest change was a school-wide structured literacy approach that has made teaching more consistent and lifted reading results.
Most learners, Māori learners among them, meet expectations in reading, and a large majority do so in writing and maths. Most students attend regularly, there are many chances for student leadership, learners with additional needs get timely support, and parents, whānau and iwi are valued partners.
ERO confirmed that boys are behind girls in writing, and the school has actions in place to address this. The agreed next steps are further professional learning in structured literacy, and a shared review of how writing is taught so the school can agree on expectations that lift achievement and close the gap.
Read the ERO reports for Kai Iwi School
Enrolling
Children who live in the home zone have the right to enrol. The school sometimes accepts out-of-zone enrolments, subject to a ballot and the places available at the time, and it posts its out-of-zone information on its enrolment page.
Enrolment packs can be collected from the school office or sent by email. The enrolment page links to the Education Counts tool for checking an address against the zone.
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 Kai Iwi
Kai Iwi School is in Kai Iwi. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Kai Iwi guide →Questions parents ask
Is Kai Iwi School zoned?
It has a home zone covering parts of Kai Iwi and Westmere.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 8.
How many students go there?
95 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?
483. 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).