Whanganui Collegiate School

School Evaluation Report

Tēnā koutou e mau manawa rahi ki te kaupapa e aro ake nei, ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa. Mā wai rā e kawe, mā tātau katoa.

We acknowledge the collective effort, responsibility and commitment by all to ensure that the child remains at the heart of the matter.

Every New Zealand state and state integrated school has an ERO review at least once every four years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved.

About the school

Whanganui Collegiate School is a state integrated secondary school with Anglican special character. The school is a co-educational, seven-day boarding and day school for learners from Year 9 to 13. 

The school roll at the time of this review is 437 students; 40% are girls, 60% are boarding at the school and 11% identify as Māori.

The school’s five pillars, academic excellence, sporting excellence, cultural enrichment, Christian fellowship and lifelong friendships form the foundation for a Whanganui Collegiate student’s education. 

Education Counts provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement, school enrolments and school zones. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

An explanation of the terms and judgements used in this report can be found here: Reporting | Education Review Office

Improvement and progress 

This section is about the progress the school has made since the June 2024 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school expected to see learner wellbeing enhanced and all learners achieving valued outcomes. They focused on using the five school pillars across the school to support a balanced educational experience and staff using embedded ways of monitoring and responding to regular wellbeing feedback. 

Findings

The school’s commitment to enhancing learner wellbeing and achievement is evident through its systems to regularly collect and respond to wellbeing, achievement and engagement data. This proactive approach ensures that individual and collective needs are better met, helping learners to achieve valued outcomes. Through deliberate integration of the five pillars, learners are offered a balanced and enriching educational experience that supports both personal growth and holistic development.

Other Findings

Leaders and teachers are clearer, more responsive, and more intentional in how they supported learner wellbeing. The greatest shift was that leaders and teachers now share clear and consistent ways of supporting student wellbeing.

What we know about learner success

This section provides a summary of learner success, wellbeing and foundation school conditions, including any education in Rumaki/Reo Rua settings. The judgments are based on the ERO School Improvement Framework and evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.

Less than a third 

Less than half 

Small majority 

Large majority 

Most 

Almost all 

0 to 33%

34 to 49%

50 to 64%

65 to 79%

80 to 90%

Over 90%

Learner Success and Wellbeing 

This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing.

Learners achieve well in a culture of high expectations that foster strong engagement and achievement in learning.

• Almost all students achieve the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) at Level 2, and most achieve NCEA Level 3. Senior students are well supported to follow learning pathways that match their interests and goals with the large majority achieving University Entrance (UE). Disparity remains for boys and Māori at NCEA Level 3 and UE.
• International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is used at year 11. The large majority of learners are successful in the end of year examination.
• The majority of Year 9 and 10 students achieve curriculum expectations for reading and mathematics. Systems that monitor literacy and numeracy progress at an individualised level help leaders and teachers to know and respond to a range of learner needs.
• Learners are increasingly and deliberately supported to explore their identity; understanding who they are and where they come from, and how they connect with others at school, in their community, and globally.
• The large majority of student attend school regularly. The school is approaching the government target for regular attendance. 

Conditions to support learner success

This section provides a summary of leadership, teaching, curriculum and foundation school conditions for improvement.

Leaders share a clear vision and commitment for continuous improvement and are grounded in strong relational trust.

• Leaders regularly use internal and external evaluation to guide decision making for continual improvement. The school is strengthening the regular reporting of schoolwide junior data to the school Board in order to provide information on trends and support curriculum decisions.
• Leaders ensure that the school’s vision for success is informed by their five pillars, is student centred and increasingly includes wide stakeholder feedback.
• Leaders have embedded a range of systems and processes that are well understood and are used to support learning and wellbeing. 

Learners benefit from a broad and rich curriculum that extends beyond the classroom.

• Learners have access to a wide range of opportunities aligned with the schools five pillars.
• Curriculum review is underway to improve the coherence and rigour to academic programmes and to offer a wider range of pathway opportunities.
• Teachers use purposeful questioning informed by deep knowledge of their learners to extend thinking and enhance learning in the classroom.
• Teachers foster high expectations for learner success through well-resourced programmes of learning and learners with identified learning needs are well supported. 

Robust evaluation, strong partnerships, and stable school governance drive ongoing improvements in learning and wellbeing.

• Effective partnerships between the school and the boarding school benefit learners with an extended network of support for learning and wellbeing.
• Schoolwide systems, processes and practices are coherent and well aligned with the school’s strategic direction.
• Teachers benefit from considered professional learning to continually build their knowledge and skills and their collective understanding of what works best for teaching and learning.

Next steps for improvement

This section provides more detail for the school to include in its strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school. It identifies key priorities and actions for improvement.

• Strengthen evaluation by regularly reporting a clear, schoolwide picture of valued learner outcomes.
• Use longitudinal analysis to investigate trends and patterns to identify impact of actions and initiatives on student achievement and wellbeing.
• Further develop and use a collective understanding teaching strategies that empower students to lead their own learning (student agency) and strengthen collaborative learning approaches.
• Explore and embed the school’s commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in strategic planning, curriculum, and classroom delivery.
• Improve regular attendance rates and implement an attendance plan. 

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within six months:

• the school Board implement a suitable attendance plan
• leaders and the school Board make decisions on how they will further support the school’s commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and document these in the school’s strategic plan

Every six months:

• leaders report to the school Board wellbeing, achievement, progress, attendance, behaviour and engagement information to help them know what is working to sustain high learner outcomes and reduce the disparity gap
• leaders report to the school Board the impact of professional learning for teachers to support student agency and collaborative learning

Annually:

• the school Board reports information aligned to their strategic plan to their community using existing reporting and communication approaches. 

Expected outcomes

• Valued learner outcomes, known by everyone in the community with improved equity.
• Empowered students that lead their own learning.
• Improved and sustained attendance.

The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Evaluation Report and is due within four years.

Me mahi tahi tonu tātau, kia whai oranga a tātau tamariki
Let’s continue to work together for the greater good of all children

Sharon Kelly
Director of Schools

12 November 2025