Key facts
- School number2823
- School typeContributing · Years 1–6
- AuthorityState
- GenderCo-Educational
- BoardingNo
- Language of instructionEnglish medium / other settings
- Established3 February 1970
About Crofton Downs Primary School
Crofton Downs Primary School is a state primary school located between the Wellington suburbs of Ngaio and Wadestown. It opened in 1970 under the name Chartwell School, serving the then-new suburbs of Chartwell and Crofton Downs. In 2008, the school was renamed Crofton Downs Primary School to reflect the name by which the surrounding community had become more widely known.
The school operates an enrolment zone and sometimes has spaces available via ballot for out-of-zone applicants.
The school describes its approach to learning as centred on exploration, play, and inquiry. Its campus includes bush areas, a field, and a library. The school is not faith-based and is not a Māori-medium school.
School donations
The Ministry of Education profile states that: "Donations may be requested".
With an Equity Index of 357, Crofton Downs Primary School is below the 432 threshold newly required to opt into the donations scheme, though a school already receiving this funding from an earlier year may continue to do so. Outside the scheme, a school can still ask families for donations, but cannot compel or enforce payment.
Check directly with the school for current charges, contributions or other costs. Learn more on the donations scheme or fees and charges at school, both on education.govt.nz.
Equity Index
The Ministry publishes this figure as a bare number — KuraData shows it against the directory-wide average, so you can see where Crofton Downs Primary School actually sits, not just the number on its own.
The Equity Index estimates the socio-economic barriers students face, on average, and is used to inform government funding and support. It is not a measure of school quality or academic performance.
Higher values indicate a higher level of estimated socio-economic barriers; lower values indicate fewer. Learn how the Equity Index is calculated →
Student ethnicity
The Ministry publishes this as a raw table — here it's visualised directly against Crofton Downs Primary School's own roll, so the shape of it is clear at a glance.
- European — 131 students (78%)
- Asian — 35 students (20.8%)
- Pacific — 3 students (1.8%)
- Māori — 16 students (9.5%)
- MELAA — 19 students (11.3%)
Percentages may sum to more than 100% because students can identify with more than one ethnic group.
Education pathway
Nearby schools serving the next or previous year levels are shown as potential pathway options. They do not indicate formal enrolment pathways or actual student transfers.
-
South Wellington Intermediate Intermediate · Years 7–8 · 6.7 km
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Evans Bay Intermediate Intermediate · Years 7–8 · 6.8 km
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Tawa Intermediate Intermediate · Years 7–8 · 12.1 km
-
Wainuiomata High School Secondary · Years 9–15 · 14.4 km
Location
- Street address21 Chartwell Drive
- SuburbCrofton Downs
- CityWellington
- Local authorityWellington City
Official contact details
- ContactJustin Potter
- Phone+64 4 479 2429
- Emailoffice@cdps.school.nz
- Websitewww.cdps.school.nz/
Nearby schools
Schools physically closest to Crofton Downs Primary School, regardless of year level.
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Wadestown School Full Primary · Years 1–8 · 472 m
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Ngaio School Contributing · Years 1–6 · 1.5 km
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Sacred Heart Cathedral School Full Primary · Years 1–8 · 2.1 km
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Thorndon School Full Primary · Years 1–8 · 2.1 km
-
Te Ara Activity Centre Activity Centre · 2.1 km
Explore schools in Wellington
Browse Wellington schools by type, including primary, intermediate, secondary, composite and other schools.
Enrolment
Crofton Downs Primary School operates a home zone enrolment scheme. Families can check whether their street falls within the zone using the address search tool on the school's enrolment page. Out-of-zone places are available through a ballot.
In-zone enrolments require the following documents:
- Proof of the child's eligibility to attend a New Zealand school — a New Zealand birth certificate, New Zealand or Australian passport, New Zealand residency permit, or New Zealand student visa/permit and parental work permit, as applicable
- Proof of address, such as a utilities bill or rental/sales agreement
- Immunisation certificate
- A copy of any relevant court order documents, if applicable
Curriculum
Crofton Downs Primary School follows an inquiry-based learning approach across the school. The CDPS Curriculum Centre covers Maths, English, and Te Reo.
Philosophy for Children (P4C) is taught across all year levels as a whole-school programme. All teachers are trained through P4C NZ to deliver the programme, with ongoing professional development. In P4C sessions, students explore concepts such as love, courage, and knowledge, developing skills including giving reasons, making distinctions, clarifying ideas, and formulating and testing criteria.
Junior classes participate in Discovery SPACE, a play-based learning programme running since 2016, in which students self-select activities and work in interest-based groups.
The school uses KiVa as its anti-bullying programme. KiVa is evidence-based and distinguishes itself by focusing on bystanders as well as those directly involved in bullying incidents.
Frequently asked
These aren't generic answers — each one is built directly from Crofton Downs Primary School's own official Ministry of Education data already shown on this page, so what you read here always matches the figures above.
Sources & methodology
Every fact on this page traces back to one of the rows below — official Ministry of Education data, or Crofton Downs Primary School's own published information, reviewed before publication. Nothing here is inferred or estimated beyond what its source actually states.
| Data | Source | Data period | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| School characteristics | Ministry of Education | — | 15 October 2026 |
| Student roll | Ministry of Education / Education Counts | September 2026 | 15 October 2026 |
| Equity Index | Education Counts | — | 15 October 2026 |
| Address & coordinates | Ministry of Education | — | 15 October 2026 |
| Contact details | NZ Schools Directory | Current | 15 October 2026 |
| School information (AI-curated, human-reviewed) | Crofton Downs Primary School's official website | Current | 6 October 2026 |