Last updated November 2026
Whangamarino School is a state, co-educational full primary school for Years 1 to 8 at 637 State Highway 33, Okere Falls. It had 137 students on its roll at 1 October 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. Its site describes a kura-ā-iwi of Ngāti Pikiao with a designated character, where the local curriculum is built on Ngāti Pikiaotanga and te reo Māori me ōna tikanga, alongside digital technologies and a kapa haka group open to all tamariki. It is a Positive Behaviour for Learning school, belongs to the Matawhaura cluster of Ngāti Pikiao schools for sporting events through the year, and lists noho marae, a school production, a Matariki festival of learning and a māra kai used for cooking in class.
At a glance
- Principal
- Rehua Mihaka
- Address
- 637 State Highway 33, Okere Falls
- Phone
- 07 362 4879
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 137 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 report from June 2024 by ERO’s Māori review services, which looked at how well tamariki succeed as Ngāti Pikiao.
ERO described a designated special character school with kura auraki (English-medium) and kura rumaki (Māori immersion) classes, and found students proudly and confidently living Ngāti Pikiaotanga, with Pikiaotanga at the centre of the curriculum and regular noho marae.
Teachers plan together and give engaging, challenging lessons, routines are well set, individual plans support students with learning needs, and the kura’s data showed clear gains in literacy. At the time, the board was appointing a new principal and an interim leadership team was running the kura.
ERO’s next steps were to build internal evaluation to guide decisions, set a new strategic direction with the community once a permanent principal is appointed, and make governance documents reflect the school’s special character.
ERO also found that trustees, leaders and staff needed to know school policies quickly, especially on student safety: evacuation drills had been inconsistent, staff had not had physical restraint training, and the safety checking of staff was unclear. Compliance actions covered police vetting, behaviour and restraint policies, the annual analysis of variance and a workplace emergency plan.
Enrolling
The school has no home zone. Its website does not set out an enrolment process, so whānau should contact the school office to talk through enrolment.
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 Okere Falls Rotorua
Whangamarino School is in Okere Falls Rotorua. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
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Questions parents ask
Is Whangamarino School zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 8.
How many students go there?
137 at 1 Oct 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?
531. 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, 11 Nov 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).