Last updated October 2026
Otonga Road School is a state, co-educational primary school for Years 1 to 6 at 105 Otonga Road, Springfield, Rotorua. It opened in 1960 and had 521 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes parts of Springfield, Tihiotonga, Whakarewarewa, Tumunui, Kapenga, Hillcrest and Pomare; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school’s site describes learning through play in the junior years and project-based learning for older students, with explicit teaching of reading, writing and maths, specialist music and drama programmes, a singing group and rock band, kapa haka groups and weekly whole-school waiata. It also lists teams for netball, hockey, miniball, rip rugby, flipper ball, futsal and cricket, ESOL support from a specialist teacher, places for international fee-paying students living with a parent, and before and after school care and a holiday programme run on site by an independent provider.
At a glance
- Principal
- Gareth Cunliffe
- Address
- 105 Otonga Road, Springfield, Rotorua
- Phone
- 07 348 6443
Home zone
Parts of these suburbs: Springfield Rotorua, Tihiotonga Rotorua, Whakarewarewa, Tumunui, Kapenga, Hillcrest Rotorua and Pomare Rotorua: 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 521 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
2 international students
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 October 2024. ERO found that most students achieve at or above the expected curriculum level in reading and writing, though results vary for Māori and Pacific boys in writing and for girls in maths, and that almost all students reach the expected level in maths.
Students and families describe a strong sense of belonging, and the school had gone past the Ministry’s attendance target. ERO saw leadership that keeps the focus on students and plans and monitors priorities well, a well-planned local curriculum, individual progress plans built with each student and family, and caring classrooms.
The agreed next steps are to report achievement information in more detail so trends for particular groups, including Pacific students and English language learners, are clear and gaps can be targeted, to lift the quality of te reo Māori, tikanga and mātauranga Māori in classrooms, to check how the school’s learning dispositions affect achievement and wellbeing, and to keep regular attendance up.
Read the ERO reports for Otonga Road School
Enrolling
Students who live in the home zone have the right to enrol, and families are asked for proof of their usual address. Out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme when there is room, by ballot when there are more applicants than places.
Enrolment is done through an online form linked from the school’s Enrolment and Our School Zone page, which also describes the zone boundary and a transition programme where new entrants and their families visit before starting school.
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 Springfield Rotorua
Otonga Road School is in Springfield Rotorua. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Springfield Rotorua guide →Questions parents ask
Is Otonga Road School zoned?
It has a home zone covering parts of Springfield Rotorua, Tihiotonga Rotorua, Whakarewarewa, Tumunui, Kapenga, Hillcrest Rotorua and Pomare Rotorua.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 6.
How many students go there?
521 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?
415. 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, 24 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).