Last updated October 2026
St Mary’s Catholic School is a state-integrated, co-educational primary school for Years 1 to 6 at 37 Carnot Street, Glenholme, Rotorua. It opened in 1924 and had 463 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. Its site describes a Catholic special character, with religious education using the national Catholic programme, daily prayer, and regular Masses and liturgies for all students. It lists a heated swimming pool, a hall, an astroturf and adventure playgrounds, a sports coordinator with teams in netball, futsal, touch, cricket, hockey, miniball and football, Chromebooks for older students, and before and after school care run by an outside provider from the nearby Glenholme School hall.
At a glance
- Principal
- David MacMillan
- Address
- 37 Carnot Street, Glenholme, Rotorua
- Phone
- 07 348 1701
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 463 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 School Report from October 2025. ERO found that most students meet or exceed the expected curriculum level in reading and maths and a large majority in writing; results in writing and maths are becoming fairer across groups, but reading results are not yet equitable.
ERO saw strong teaching that is lifting progress, a structured approach to literacy and maths that was adopted early and is well established, good support for students with complex needs, and much better progress, since the last review, for the students most likely to fall behind.
Students feel they belong, leadership is shared and collaborative, and a large majority of students attend regularly, with attendance improving towards the government target.
The key priorities are to use explicit teaching across all learning areas, build a consistent approach to self-review at every level of the school so outcomes are fair for all students, and keep improving attendance, including putting a formal attendance plan in place, which ERO noted the school did not yet have.
Read the ERO reports for St Mary’s Catholic School (Rotorua)
Enrolling
The school has no home zone. As a state-integrated Catholic school, its online enrolment form asks families for the child’s birth certificate, Certificate of Baptism and Preference of Enrolment card, and the school then arranges an enrolment interview with the principal or deputy principal.
Once enrolment is confirmed, new entrants are invited to a weekly pre-school class for the weeks before they 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 Glenholme Rotorua
St Mary's Catholic School (Rotorua) is in Glenholme Rotorua. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Glenholme Rotorua guide →Questions parents ask
Is St Mary's Catholic School (Rotorua) 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?
463 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?
387. 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.
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Sources and data notes 1
- School facts: School details and roll: Ministry of Education school directory, 24 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).