Last updated October 2026
St Patrick’s Catholic School is a state-integrated, co-educational full primary school for Years 1 to 8 at 86 Acacia Bay Road, Taupo. It opened in 1997 and had 233 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. The school is part of the Tongariro Catholic Parish, with the parish church on its grounds, and its website describes class-led Masses, religious education and Year 7 and 8 special character leaders. It also runs two kapa haka rōpū that take part in the Tūwharetoa kapa haka festival, a STEAM programme, play-based learning in its junior Koru Hub, an enviro group and a Kids Greening Taupō bush restoration project.
At a glance
- Principal
- Vicki Saunders (Acting)
- Address
- 86 Acacia Bay Road, Taupo
- Phone
- 07 378 0205
Home zone
No home zone: any student can apply to enrol. If more students apply than there are places, the school decides how places are offered.
Who goes here
Share of the 233 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 Te Ara Huarau School Profile Report from July 2023. It set out how ERO and the school would look at how well the local curriculum supports fair outcomes for every learner.
ERO pointed to the school’s deliberate work on building teachers’ te reo Māori and tikanga, its engagement with local iwi through a mana whenua learning programme backed by the Kāhui Ako, its links with the council and environmental groups through Greening Taupō, and an existing framework for spotting culturally responsive practice.
The school’s priorities are to put its strategic plan into practice with a focus on reviewing its local curriculum, look more closely at trends in school-wide data, and keep using assessment to find each learner’s next steps. ERO said its next public report would be a School Evaluation Report.
Read the ERO reports for St Patrick’s Catholic School (Taupo)
Enrolling
St Patrick’s is a state-integrated Catholic school. Its website says preference places go to families with a connection to the school’s Catholic character, confirmed by the parish priest through a Preference of Enrolment Certificate, and that applying for preference does not guarantee a place.
A limited number of non-preference places are offered once preference enrolments are met, in a priority order that starts with siblings of current students. Non-preference families must accept the school’s Catholic character and pay the attendance dues set by the Proprietor.
Families are welcome to visit and meet the principal. Families seeking preference also meet the parish pastoral care coordinator, and non-preference applicants complete an online form sent by the school office.
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 Nukuhau
St Patrick's Catholic School (Taupo) is in Nukuhau. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Nukuhau guide →Questions parents ask
Is St Patrick's Catholic School (Taupo) zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 8.
How many students go there?
233 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?
418. 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, 22 Oct 2026 (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).