Last updated October 2026
Hilltop School is a state, co-educational full primary school for Years 1 to 8 at 88 Rokino Road, Taupo. It opened in 1964 and had 580 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes parts of Hilltop and Taupō Central; the zone map below shows the full boundary. The school’s website describes a localised curriculum that draws on Lake Taupō and the surrounding maunga, with outdoor education, camps for the Year 5 to 8 classes, and Mahi Peak for Years 7 and 8. It runs junior and senior kapa haka rōpū with a focus on Ngāti Tūwharetoa tikanga, winter sport in hockey, netball and basketball, and touch rugby.
At a glance
- Principal
- Andrea Hunter
- Address
- 88 Rokino Road, Taupo
- Phone
- 07 378 7583
Home zone
Parts of these suburbs: Hilltop and Taupō 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 580 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.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a School Report from February 2025. ERO found that a large majority of learners meet or exceed expected levels in reading, writing and maths, and that results are evening out across groups.
Structured literacy is lifting engagement and results in reading and writing, learners with complex needs get good support, and the school’s values underpin wellbeing, inclusion and leadership. ERO also noted that the school reports clearly to whānau, uses community feedback in its planning, and that regular attendance is improving.
The agreed next steps are to keep lifting achievement in reading, writing and maths, with faster progress for learners below expectations, make teaching and assessment consistent across the school, help learners manage and assess their own learning, and keep improving regular attendance. The plan sets early actions, reviews every six months and a yearly evaluation.
Read the ERO reports for Hilltop School
Enrolling
Children who live in the home zone have the right to enrol, and the address given must be the family’s usual home.
Out-of-zone places are offered under the enrolment scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places. The school says its board reviews roll numbers from time to time and runs a ballot for particular year groups when needed.
To enrol, families check the zone, read the enrolment scheme and complete the online form linked from the enrolment page. The school publishes any out-of-zone places and ballot dates on its enrolment page.
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 Hilltop
Hilltop School is in Hilltop. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Hilltop guide →Questions parents ask
Is Hilltop School zoned?
It has a home zone covering parts of Hilltop and Taupō Central.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 8.
How many students go there?
580 at 1 Sep 2026.
Does it ask for donations?
It may. It is not in the donation scheme, so it can ask families for donations.
What is its Equity Index?
421. 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.
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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