Last updated October 2026
Cornerstone Christian School is a state-integrated, co-educational composite school for Years 1 to 13 at 119 Mihaere Drive, Kelvin Grove, Palmerston North. It opened in 1987 and had 612 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes 23 suburbs in full and parts of 7 more, among them Awahuri, Aorangi, Kairanga, Ballance, Maewa and Awapuni; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school’s site describes a non-denominational Christian character woven through the curriculum, with daily prayer and the Bible as the basis for learning, and a house (Tribe) system with student councils, buddy mentoring and service projects. It lists kapa haka, a Pasifika group, a choir, a worship band, musical productions and onsite music lessons, along with learning support and ESOL.
At a glance
- Principal
- James Rose
- Address
- 119 Mihaere Drive, Kelvin Grove, Palmerston North
- Phone
- 06-356 7326
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Aokautere, West End Palmerston North, Bunnythorpe Palmerston North, Terrace End Palmerston North, Awahuri near Palmerston North, Aorangi near Palmerston North, Westbrook Palmerston North, Hokowhitu, Kelvin Grove, Cloverlea Palmerston North, Palmerston North Central, Newbury near Palmerston North, Longburn Palmerston North, Highbury, Awapuni Palmerston North, Milson Palmerston North, Whakarongo Palmerston North, Fitzherbert Palmerston North, Maewa near Palmerston North, Takaro, Roslyn, Kairanga and Ballance near Palmerston North.
Parts of Feilding near Palmerston North, Ashhurst Palmerston North, Turitea Palmerston North, Linton Palmerston North, Tiakitahuna near Palmerston North, Colyton near Palmerston North and Rongotea near 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 612 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 a majority of students are engaged and making good progress, with results becoming fairer across groups.
Most students in Years 1 to 6 reach the expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and maths, a majority do so in Years 7 to 10, and most gain NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3.
Most students attend regularly and the school meets the Ministry’s attendance target. ERO also noted a pastoral team and system that are now well established, teachers who know students well, and careful tracking of achievement, especially in the senior school.
The agreed next steps are to evaluate a new behaviour management system, with a focus on lifting achievement for boys in Years 7 to 10, to make the curriculum more coherent from Year 1 to Year 13 with stronger learning and engagement in the middle school, and to weave te reo and tikanga Māori further through school life and classes.
Read the ERO reports for Cornerstone Christian School
Enrolling
Cornerstone Christian School is state-integrated and enrols under an enrolment scheme that gives first priority to preference applicants, meaning families who meet its Christian special character criteria, starting with those inside its area of reasonable convenience.
Non-preference students can be offered places only when room remains after preference applicants, and the integration agreement limits them to a small share of the roll. When there are more applicants than places, siblings and other priority groups come first, then a ballot.
The school publishes the places available at each year level and the application deadline on its enrolment overview page each year. Attendance dues apply and are set out on its school costs page.
Schools nearby
In Kelvin Grove
Cornerstone Christian School is in Kelvin Grove. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Kelvin Grove guide →Questions parents ask
Is Cornerstone Christian School zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Aokautere, West End Palmerston North, Bunnythorpe Palmerston North, Terrace End Palmerston North, Awahuri near Palmerston North, Aorangi near Palmerston North, Westbrook Palmerston North, Hokowhitu, Kelvin Grove, Cloverlea Palmerston North, Palmerston North Central, Newbury near Palmerston North, Longburn Palmerston North, Highbury, Awapuni Palmerston North, Milson Palmerston North, Whakarongo Palmerston North, Fitzherbert Palmerston North, Maewa near Palmerston North, Takaro, Roslyn, Kairanga and Ballance near Palmerston North and parts of Feilding near Palmerston North, Ashhurst Palmerston North, Turitea Palmerston North, Linton Palmerston North, Tiakitahuna near Palmerston North, Colyton near Palmerston North and Rongotea near Palmerston North.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 13.
How many students go there?
612 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?
417. 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, 95.1% 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). 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).