Last updated October 2026
Papamoa College is a state, co-educational secondary school for Years 7 to 13 at 151 Doncaster Road, Papamoa, Tauranga. It opened in 2011 and had 1,883 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes parts of Rural Pāpāmoa, Pāpāmoa Beach, Kairua and Waitao; the zone map below shows the full boundary. Its site lists Te Whānau o Te Pākura, bilingual te reo Māori and English classes for Years 7 and 8 and for Years 9 and 10, and junior Learning Through Sport classes that follow the same programme as other classes through a sports context.
Every student and staff member belongs to one of four Waka named after canoes linked to the area, which compete in kapa haka, sport and other events, and the school also runs sport, arts and culture programmes and a programme for international students with homestays.
At a glance
- Principal
- Iva Ropati
- Address
- 151 Doncaster Road, Papamoa, Tauranga
- Phone
- 07-5420676 Ext 2103
Home zone
Parts of these suburbs: Rural Pāpāmoa, Pāpāmoa Beach, Kairua and Waitao near Tauranga: 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 1,883 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
84 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 School Evaluation Report from November 2024. ERO found that work on literacy for Years 7 to 10 had paid off, with better NCEA literacy results and faster progress for most students who were behind, including Māori and Pacific students.
Most students are making progress and achieving well: most gain NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3, a small majority gain University Entrance, results for Māori and Pacific students have become more even, and most leave with a meaningful qualification and a pathway. However, less than half of students attend school regularly.
ERO described collaborative, evidence-based leadership, teachers who know their students and run orderly classrooms, good support for students with specific learning needs, and students who say the school is inclusive. The school also hosts a satellite class of Tauranga Special School.
ERO’s next steps for the college are to lift attendance and engagement through a values-based culture for learning, build teachers’ confidence with te reo Māori, tikanga and mātauranga Māori, and keep working towards fair outcomes for Māori and Pacific students, reporting regularly on the progress made.
Read the ERO reports for Papamoa College
Enrolling
Pāpāmoa College has an enrolment scheme, so students who live in the home zone have the right to enrol. Out-of-zone places are offered under the scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places. The school publishes its out-of-zone application and ballot dates on its enrolment page each year.
Families can enrol online or with a paper form. Places in the Te Pākura bilingual classes and the Learning Through Sport classes need a separate application, also set out on the enrolment page.
Schools nearby
In Pāpāmoa Beach
Papamoa College is in Pāpāmoa Beach. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Pāpāmoa Beach guide →Questions parents ask
Is Papamoa College zoned?
It has a home zone covering parts of Rural Pāpāmoa, Pāpāmoa Beach, Kairua and Waitao near Tauranga.
What years does it teach?
Years 7 to 13.
How many students go there?
1,883 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?
458. 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, 78.9% 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, 22 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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