Last updated October 2026
Ashhurst School is a state, co-educational full primary school for Years 1 to 8 at 96 Cambridge Avenue, Ashhurst. It opened in 1879 and had 456 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes parts of Ashhurst, Aokautere and Whakarongo; the zone map below shows the full boundary. The school’s site describes a mastery-based approach to learning, classrooms with one teacher each and online class sites where families can watch the teaching videos for the week, along with a commitment to te ao Māori and links with Rangitāne as mana whenua. It lists an indoor heated pool, a covered turf and cricket nets, weekly teams in basketball, hockey, summer soccer, touch, netball and volleyball, and a link to an after-school care programme.
At a glance
- Principal
- Heath Chittenden
- Address
- 96 Cambridge Avenue, Ashhurst
- Phone
- 06 326 8299
Home zone
Parts of these suburbs: Ashhurst Palmerston North, Aokautere and Whakarongo Palmerston North: 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 456 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 October 2025. ERO found that success and progress are rising for all learners, with very strong teaching in reading, writing and maths.
Most learners meet or exceed the expected curriculum level in reading and maths, and a large majority do so in writing, where results are not yet even across groups.
ERO noted good support for learners with complex needs, a consistent focus on structured literacy and maths in every class, useful reporting to whānau, and leadership opportunities for students. Only a small majority of students attend regularly, so the school is still working towards the government’s attendance target and is developing a plan to get there.
ERO’s priorities for the school are to speed up progress and achievement in literacy for boys, lift regular attendance towards the government target, and keep refining and embedding the recent curriculum changes, including new assessment tools and reporting requirements.
Read the ERO reports for Ashhurst School
Enrolling
Students who live in the home zone have the right to enrol, and the school asks for proof of residence such as a tenancy agreement, a sale and purchase agreement or a recent utility bill.
Out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme, with priority for siblings of current and former students, children of former students and children of board employees or members, and by ballot when there are more applicants than places.
Enrolment is made through the online form linked from the school’s enrolment page, which also has a separate out-of-zone application form. New entrants start in small groups on set cohort entry dates at the start and middle of each term, and the school runs weekly Waharoa transition sessions for enrolled children and their whānau 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 Ashhurst Palmerston North
Ashhurst School is in Ashhurst Palmerston North. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Ashhurst Palmerston North guide →Questions parents ask
Is Ashhurst School zoned?
It has a home zone covering parts of Ashhurst Palmerston North, Aokautere and Whakarongo Palmerston North.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 8.
How many students go there?
456 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?
459. 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).