Last updated October 2026
St Peter’s College is a state-integrated, co-educational secondary school for Years 7 to 13 at Holdsworth Avenue, Milson, Palmerston North. It opened in 1974 and had 789 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. The school’s site describes a Catholic character that shapes college life, with an onsite chaplaincy team, student-led liturgies, retreats, social justice activities and a sacramental preparation programme. It also takes international students, who live with school-arranged homestay families, and lists a gym, a music recording studio, drama and art spaces and a chapel among its facilities.
At a glance
- Principal
- Margaret Leamy
- Address
- Holdsworth Avenue, Milson, Palmerston North
- Phone
- 06 354 4198
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.
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 789 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
8 international students
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 February 2023. This kind of report sets out what ERO and the school will evaluate together, here how well the school’s Journey to God strategy (te hōkaitanga ki te Atua) gives every student a deeper sense of identity, belonging and connection.
ERO noted strengths the school can build on: a Catholic world view centred on partnership and relationships, a collaborative staff with high expectations of students, teachers and the community, ongoing professional learning for teachers, and a strategic plan shaped by wide consultation.
Next, the school plans to help teachers offer more culturally responsive learning that is increasingly based on the local area, to check how well its systems and processes serve students and fit the strategy, and to keep identifying and responding to the outcomes that matter to whānau and Rangitāne o Manawatū.
Read the ERO reports for St Peter’s College (Palmerston North)
Enrolling
St Peter’s College is a state-integrated Catholic school with no home zone. Its enrolment page says applications should come with a preference certificate signed by a Catholic parish priest or an authorised agent of the bishop. Without one, a student relies on a non-preference place becoming available and goes on the waiting list.
Families apply through the school’s online enrolment form. The enrolment page also links to the school’s enrolment scheme and sets out the attendance dues that apply.
Schools nearby
In Milson Palmerston North
St Peter's College (Palmerston North) is in Milson Palmerston North. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Milson Palmerston North guide →Questions parents ask
Is St Peter's College (Palmerston North) zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 7 to 13.
How many students go there?
789 at 1 Sep 2026.
Does it ask for donations?
It may. It is not in the donation scheme, so it can ask families for donations.
What is its Equity Index?
436. 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.
How did its school leavers do in NCEA?
In 2025, 86.9% of its school leavers had NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with 77.8% of all New Zealand school leavers.
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). 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).