Last updated October 2026
Tawhero School is a state, co-educational primary school for Years 1 to 6 at Totara Street, Whanganui. It opened in 1926 and had 173 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. Its site makes kapa haka, kaupapa Māori and sport a priority, with after-school sport, swimming lessons at the Splash Centre for some year levels, and teams in codes from hockey and netball to touch, volleyball and basketball.
Teaching includes a structured literacy approach, Numicon for maths, play-based learning for younger tamariki and a device for every student.
At a glance
- Principal
- Karleen Marshall
- Address
- Totara Street, Whanganui
- Phone
- 06-349 0499
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 173 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 report from June 2024 by ERO’s Māori Services team, which looked at how well tamariki build belief in themselves, the school’s ’Mauria te pono’ vision, through literacy and maths.
ERO found leaders and kaiako had made very good progress on earlier priorities in te reo Māori, literacy and maths. It described print-rich classrooms, a structured literacy approach backed by skilled staff, play-based learning for younger tamariki, and a long-held goal of bilingual teaching now met, giving tamariki an easy move from the school’s Puna Reo.
Achievement has become more even, with boys and girls now at similar levels, most meeting the school’s expectations in reading and many in writing and maths, and attendance has been rising.
ERO’s main recommendation is for leaders to keep developing and using internal evaluation to track progress on the school’s plans, including making more systematic use of ERO’s Whārangi Arotake self-review tool for te reo Māori teaching and learning.
Read the ERO reports for Tawhero School
Enrolling
Any student can apply, as the school does not have an enrolment scheme. Families are welcome to phone ahead to meet the principal and tour the school, and children starting school are ideally enrolled a few months before they turn five.
Enrolment is completed with the required documents and an interview with the principal or deputy principal, after which a new entrant visit to the classroom is arranged.
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
Tawhero 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 Tawhero 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?
173 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.
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).