Last updated November 2026
Western Heights Primary School is a state, co-educational primary school for Years 1 to 6 at 197 Clayton Road, Western Heights, Rotorua. It opened in 1958 and had 431 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes parts of Mangakakahi, Western Heights and Pukehangi; the zone map below shows the full boundary. The school’s site says children get free food through the day, with a breakfast club, fruit and snacks at morning tea and free lunches from Ka Pai Kai, and that it is a water-only school. It follows the Leader in Me programme alongside four core values, Rangatiratanga, Kotahitanga, Manaakitanga and Whanaungatanga, shares learning with families through Seesaw, and lists art with a specialist teacher, sport such as touch, miniball and swimming, and trips that have included waka ama and golf.
At a glance
- Principal
- Brent Griffin
- Address
- 197 Clayton Road, Western Heights, Rotorua
- Phone
- 07 348 8459
Home zone
Parts of these suburbs: Mangakakahi Rotorua, Western Heights Rotorua and Pukehangi 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 431 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 School Report from September 2025. ERO found the school working towards high levels of success for all learners, with high-quality teaching that lifts progress in reading, writing and maths, rich learning across the curriculum, good support for learners with complex needs, and students’ language, culture and identity woven through the curriculum.
A small majority of students meet or exceed expected levels in reading and in writing and a large majority in maths, with results becoming fairer across groups. Attendance is a concern: less than half of students attend regularly and chronic absence is not yet falling, though the school has a suitable plan and regular attendance is improving.
ERO’s key priorities are to embed structured teaching of maths and literacy across the school, raise achievement for all students, particularly boys in writing and girls in maths, and improve regular attendance, with the board and leaders reviewing attendance and achievement information regularly to guide next steps.
Read the ERO reports for Western Heights Primary School (Rotorua)
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 website asks families to get in touch through its contact page to enrol, and it runs a weekly transition-to-school session where children can meet teachers and get to know the school 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 Mangakakahi Rotorua
Western Heights Primary School (Rotorua) is in Mangakakahi Rotorua. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Questions parents ask
Is Western Heights Primary School (Rotorua) zoned?
It has a home zone covering parts of Mangakakahi Rotorua, Western Heights Rotorua and Pukehangi Rotorua.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 6.
How many students go there?
431 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).