Last updated October 2026
Awatapu College is a state, co-educational secondary school for Years 9 to 13 at 434 Botanical Road, West End, Palmerston North. It opened in 1976 and had 867 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes 5 suburbs in full and parts of 10 more, among them Awapuni, Fitzherbert, Linton, West End and Turitea; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school’s site describes a Special Needs Department with individual learning plans, life and work skills and support to join mainstream classes, alongside learning support and an extension programme, and says some senior students study subjects through Massey University while completing NCEA. It also runs an international student programme and offers sport, cultural, performing arts and club activities.
At a glance
- Principal
- Gary Yeatman
- Address
- 434 Botanical Road, West End, Palmerston North
- Phone
- 06 356 4817
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Awapuni Palmerston North, Fitzherbert Palmerston North, Linton Palmerston North, Turitea Palmerston North and West End Palmerston North.
Parts of Highbury, Tiakitahuna near Palmerston North, Aokautere, Opiki near Palmerston North, Longburn Palmerston North, Tokomaru near Palmerston North, Rangiotu near Palmerston North, Hokowhitu, Takaro 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.
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 867 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
19 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.
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 March 2024. This kind of report sets out what ERO and the school will evaluate together, here how curriculum change and Universal Design for Learning can make learning more accessible and lift attendance, engagement and achievement.
ERO pointed to a well-developed professional growth process that builds teachers’ skills in culturally responsive, relationship-based teaching, a programme of professional learning that supports the refreshed national curriculum, and an appraisal process grounded in regular reflection.
From here the school plans to work with its curriculum leaders to connect learning more closely to the local area, strengthen its quality assurance and review systems so it can judge how curriculum changes affect achievement, and bed in Universal Design for Learning across classrooms.
Read the ERO reports for Awatapu College
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 publishes its out-of-zone places, closing dates and any ballot dates on its Enrolment Process page each year. Year 9 students enrol through an online process, and families seeking a place at other year levels fill in an expression of interest form.
Schools nearby
In West End Palmerston North
Awatapu College is in West End Palmerston North. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our West End Palmerston North guide →Questions parents ask
Is Awatapu College zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Awapuni Palmerston North, Fitzherbert Palmerston North, Linton Palmerston North, Turitea Palmerston North and West End Palmerston North and parts of Highbury, Tiakitahuna near Palmerston North, Aokautere, Opiki near Palmerston North, Longburn Palmerston North, Tokomaru near Palmerston North, Rangiotu near Palmerston North, Hokowhitu, Takaro and Whakarongo Palmerston North.
What years does it teach?
Years 9 to 13.
How many students go there?
867 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?
492. 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, 76.4% of its school leavers had NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with 77.8% of all New Zealand school leavers.
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). Updated automatically when the Ministry publishes new data.
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