Tawhero School

Tawhero School is a co-educational contributing school in Whanganui, within the Manawatū-Whanganui Region, operating in the state sector, with 173 students on roll, and an Equity Index of 547. The school has been open since 1926.

With 173 students on roll, Tawhero School is a medium-sized school — larger than about 42% of New Zealand schools.

The school's Equity Index is 547, which is well above the national average of 463. A higher Equity Index signals greater socio-economic need in the school's community — schools in this band receive more targeted government funding and support. The gap of 84 points is substantial enough to matter when comparing schools.

The roll is genuinely diverse: no single ethnic group dominates, with European at 53.8% and Pasifika at 32.5%. Diversity of this kind is common in urban New Zealand schools.

On the isolation index the school scores 0.37 (low isolation) — this measures how far students travel and how accessible the school is, not how good it is.