Last updated October 2026
Central Normal School is a state, co-educational primary school for Years 1 to 6 at 201 Featherston Street, Palmerston North. It opened in 1873 and had 485 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes parts of Takaro and Palmerston North Central; the zone map below shows the full boundary. The school’s site describes Te Arawaru, a team of Rumaki classes where students learn in te reo Māori through Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, alongside its mainstream classes, and says it holds special education funding for students verified for the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS), who learn in mainstream classes for their age.
As a normal school it works with Massey University on teacher training, and its site lists sports teams from T-ball and flippaball to hockey and netball, lunches for every child through Ka Ora, Ka Ako, and a link to after-school care.
At a glance
- Principal
- Regan Orr
- Address
- 201 Featherston Street, Palmerston North
- Phone
- 06 359 3337
Home zone
Parts of these suburbs: Takaro and Palmerston North Central: 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 485 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 Evaluation Report from September 2024. ERO found that most learners are achieving at the expected curriculum level in reading and a large majority in writing and maths, although results are not yet even for some groups.
Learners who need extra support make progress against challenging goals in their individual plans, and students have a strong sense of wellbeing, which the school checks and acts on.
Most learners attend regularly, though the school is not yet meeting the Ministry of Education’s attendance target. ERO noted leadership that sets clear expectations for teaching and builds trust and collaboration, and teachers who increasingly use evidence-based and culturally responsive approaches.
The agreed next steps are to give teachers professional learning in the approaches most effective at speeding up progress for learners most at risk of falling behind, strengthen how the school gives effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi with a focus on Māori learners, and build a shared understanding of what learners and whānau want from the school to guide its direction. The board will also set up a regular way to evaluate its own performance.
Read the ERO reports for Central Normal School
Enrolling
Children who live in the home zone are guaranteed a place in the school’s mainstream classes (Kura Auraki). Out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places.
The school holds a ballot each term, the term before a child is due to start, and it also covers places in Te Arawaru and out-of-zone students verified for ORS. The ballot dates are published on the school’s enrolment page.
Families start with a short pre-enrolment form and are sent the full enrolment form a few weeks before their child starts. An eligibility document such as a birth certificate or passport, proof of address and an immunisation certificate, if the child is immunised, are needed. Four-year-olds can join Seedlings, the school’s transition to school sessions.
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 Palmerston North Central
Central Normal School is in Palmerston North Central. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Questions parents ask
Is Central Normal School zoned?
It has a home zone covering parts of Takaro and Palmerston North Central.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 6.
How many students go there?
485 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?
491. 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).