Last updated October 2026
Owhata School is a state, co-educational primary school for Years 1 to 6 at 31 Brent Road, Owhata, Rotorua. It opened in 1965 and had 231 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes parts of Ōwhata; the zone map below shows the full boundary. The school’s site describes three rumaki classes alongside its English-medium classes, close links with its local marae and hapū, a Positive Culture for Learning approach to behaviour, and a small-group numeracy programme funded by Ngāti Whakaue.
Students have class swimming lessons in the school’s covered pool and can play futsal, miniball, touch rugby and netball, and a free school bus serves the Pohutukawa Drive, Sunrise Avenue and Rewarewa Street area.
At a glance
- Principal
- Robert Stiles
- Address
- 31 Brent Road, Owhata, Rotorua
- Phone
- 07 345 6051
Home zone
Parts of these suburbs: Ōwhata 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 231 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.
Stand-downs and suspensions
Cases per 1,000 students in 2025, adjusted for the ages of the school’s students, compared with all New Zealand schools.
Suspensions: fewer than 5 cases in 2025, so no rate is shown.
These measure how a school responds to behaviour, and schools set their own thresholds, so they are not a measure of how students behave.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a Te Ara Huarau School Profile Report from November 2023. This kind of report sets out what ERO and the school will evaluate together, here how well assessment practices lift student progress and achievement in both the English and te reo Māori settings and support students as they move through the school.
ERO noted that leaders, staff and whānau share a commitment to better outcomes for every student, that leadership is shared and built on trust, that teaching responds to students’ cultures and supports wellbeing and belonging, and that kaumātua, kuia, hapū, iwi and whānau are involved in daily school life.
Next, the school will focus on staff using achievement information together to make decisions about teaching and learning for the whole school and for individual students, and on building the conditions for ongoing evaluation and inquiry.
Read the ERO reports for Owhata School
Enrolling
Students who live in the home zone have the right to enrol. Out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places.
The school’s enrolment pack asks families to contact the office to arrange an enrolment meeting with the principal or deputy principal, followed by an induction hui. The school also runs a weekly transition-to-school class for children who are about to start.
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 Ōwhata Rotorua
Owhata School is in Ōwhata Rotorua. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Ōwhata Rotorua guide →Questions parents ask
Is Owhata School zoned?
It has a home zone covering parts of Ōwhata Rotorua.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 6.
How many students go there?
231 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?
536. 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).