Last updated October 2026
Rotorua Girls’ High School is a state, girls’ secondary school for Years 9 to 13 at 251 Old Taupo Road, Hillcrest, Rotorua. It opened in 1959 and had 605 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes 46 suburbs in full and parts of 1 more, among them Tumunui, Victoria, Kapenga, Hamurana, Mount Tarawera and Matipo Heights; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school runs academies in kapa haka, dance and music that students apply to join. International students can come on exchange or as fee-paying students, with ESOL lessons and homestays arranged through the school.
At a glance
- Principal
- Sarah Riley (Acting)
- Address
- 251 Old Taupo Road, Hillcrest, Rotorua
- Phone
- 07 348 0156
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Lake Tarawera, Utuhina Rotorua, Fairy Springs, Victoria, Matipo Heights, Springfield Rotorua, Hillcrest Rotorua, Mangakakahi Rotorua, Western Heights Rotorua, Ngongotahā Valley, Fordlands, Lake Ōkāreka, Fenton Park Rotorua, Tihiotonga Rotorua, Holdens Bay Rotorua, Kawaha Point Rotorua, Pomare Rotorua, Glenholme Rotorua, Rotorua Central, Mount Tarawera, Ohinemutu, Waikite Valley, Sunnybrook Rotorua, Hannahs Bay Rotorua, Selwyn Heights Rotorua, Ngapuna Rotorua, Lynmore Rotorua, Koutu Rotorua, Tumunui, Lake Ōkataina, Pukehangi Rotorua, Ngongotahā Rotorua, Whakarewarewa, Waiotapu, Kapenga, Ngakuru Rotorua, Tikitere Rotorua, Mourea Rotorua, Ōwhata Rotorua, Mamaku Rotorua, Reporoa, Hamurana, Horohoro, Rerewhakaaitu, Lake Rotomā Rotorua and Okere Falls Rotorua.
Parts of Kaingaroa Forest: 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.
NCEA results
School leavers with NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with all New Zealand school leavers.
This school New Zealand
School leavers are students who left school that year, whatever year level they left from.
Who goes here
Share of the 605 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
1 international student
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.
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 School Profile Report from March 2023. It is a short report that sets out the school’s improvement focus rather than judging results: ERO and the school are evaluating how well its mentoring programme lifts learning, engagement and attendance.
ERO noted strengths in a strategic plan the school wrote together with Ngāti Whakaue and Te Arawa, an established pastoral team that supports every student, and ongoing work on a culturally responsive curriculum.
Next, the school planned to gather student and whānau feedback after mentoring sessions, give students more learning grounded in their local area, and use internal evaluation to track the mentoring programme and its developing local curriculum.
Read the ERO reports for Rotorua Girls’ High School
Enrolling
Students who live in the home zone have the right to enrol. Any out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places.
Families can enrol online, and the school publishes its key enrolment dates for the coming year on its enrolment page, along with academy and scholarship applications.
Schools nearby
In Hillcrest Rotorua
Rotorua Girls' High School is in Hillcrest Rotorua. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Hillcrest Rotorua guide →Questions parents ask
Is Rotorua Girls' High School zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Lake Tarawera, Utuhina Rotorua, Fairy Springs, Victoria, Matipo Heights, Springfield Rotorua, Hillcrest Rotorua, Mangakakahi Rotorua, Western Heights Rotorua, Ngongotahā Valley, Fordlands, Lake Ōkāreka, Fenton Park Rotorua, Tihiotonga Rotorua, Holdens Bay Rotorua, Kawaha Point Rotorua, Pomare Rotorua, Glenholme Rotorua, Rotorua Central, Mount Tarawera, Ohinemutu, Waikite Valley, Sunnybrook Rotorua, Hannahs Bay Rotorua, Selwyn Heights Rotorua, Ngapuna Rotorua, Lynmore Rotorua, Koutu Rotorua, Tumunui, Lake Ōkataina, Pukehangi Rotorua, Ngongotahā Rotorua, Whakarewarewa, Waiotapu, Kapenga, Ngakuru Rotorua, Tikitere Rotorua, Mourea Rotorua, Ōwhata Rotorua, Mamaku Rotorua, Reporoa, Hamurana, Horohoro, Rerewhakaaitu, Lake Rotomā Rotorua and Okere Falls Rotorua and parts of Kaingaroa Forest.
What years does it teach?
Years 9 to 13.
How many students go there?
605 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?
522. 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.
Is it a single-sex school?
Yes. It takes girls only.
How did its school leavers do in NCEA?
In 2025, 51.2% of its school leavers had NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with 77.8% of all New Zealand school leavers.
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). Updated automatically when the Ministry publishes new data.
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