Key facts
- School number352
- School typeSecondary · Years 7–15
- AuthorityState
- GenderCo-Educational
- BoardingNo
- Language of instructionEnglish medium / other settings
- Established9 April 1963
About Geraldine High School
Geraldine High School (GHS) is a secondary school located in Geraldine, in the South Canterbury region of New Zealand. The school uses the Māori name Te Kura Tuarua o Raukapuka, referencing the area's traditional name, Rau Kāpuka, meaning "a hundred Kāpuka trees" — a site historically used by local iwi as a gathering place.
The school's motto is Labor Omnia Vincit (Work Conquers All). It operates across Years 7–13, offering both mainstream classes and specialist learning support through a dedicated facility called Te Whare Ako Mō Te Katoa, which caters for students with a range of learning needs.
The school has a community-facing foundation, the Geraldine High School Foundation, established in 1998, which funds projects outside the scope of Ministry of Education and school operational budgets. To date the foundation has contributed over $120,000 to projects at the school.
Enrolment
Enrolment scheme on recordGeraldine High School has an enrolment scheme (a home zone) on record. Living inside it guarantees a place; living outside it does not, though out-of-zone applications may still be considered.
School donations
The Ministry of Education profile states that: "Donations should not be requested, unless for a school camp".
With an Equity Index of 453, Geraldine High School is in the range eligible to opt into the Ministry's donations scheme — receiving additional government funding per student in exchange for not seeking donations (except for overnight camps).
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 Geraldine High 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 Geraldine High School's own roll, so the shape of it is clear at a glance.
- European — 485 students (80.8%)
- Asian — 75 students (12.5%)
- Pacific — 11 students (1.8%)
- Māori — 58 students (9.7%)
- MELAA — 35 students (5.8%)
- Other — 6 students (1%)
- International — 17 students (2.8%)
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.
-
Waihi School Full Primary · Years 1–8 · 9.4 km
Location
- Street addressMckenzie Street
- CityGeraldine
- Local authorityTimaru District
Official contact details
- ContactMarcus Cooper
- Phone03-6930017
- Emailoffice@geraldinehs.school.nz
- Websitewww.geraldinehs.school.nz
Nearby schools
Schools physically closest to Geraldine High School, regardless of year level.
-
Waihi School Full Primary · Years 1–8 · 9.4 km
-
Ashburton Christian School Composite · Years 1–10 · 46.4 km
-
Methven Primary School Contributing · Years 1–6 · 60 km
-
Clearview Primary Full Primary · Years 1–8 · 105.7 km
-
Cashmere High School Secondary · Years 9–15 · 124.9 km
Explore schools in Geraldine
Browse Geraldine schools by type, including primary, intermediate, secondary, composite and other schools.
Curriculum and Subjects
Geraldine High School covers Years 7 to 13. Students in Years 7 and 8 are taught core subjects — Literacy, Numeracy, and Social Studies — by a Homeroom teacher, with specialist teachers delivering additional subjects. Senior students in Years 11 to 13 work towards qualifications on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF), including NCEA Levels 1, 2, and 3.
The school offers a range of subjects across year levels, including vocational and specialist options:
- Drama
- English
- Gateway
- Health & Physical Education
- Te Reo Māori
- Mathematics
- Music
- Outdoor Education
- Primary Industry Academy
- Science
- Social Sciences
- Technology
- Visual Art
Years 7 and 8 students also access specialist classes in Art, Drama, French, Food Technology, Hard Materials, and Textiles. The school operates a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy across all year levels. A learning support department, known as Te Whare Ako, provides additional academic and social support, including a dedicated Learning Centre with specialist equipment.
Sports and Activities
Geraldine High School offers the following named sports and activities:
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Basketball
- Chess
- Cricket
- Cross Country
- Cycling — includes road cycling (local bunch rides on Tuesdays and Saturdays) and a Mountain Biking Academy that takes students to Mount Hutt Mountain Biking Park and other locations
- Football
- Golf
- Gym Sports
- Hockey
- Netball
- Rowing — training takes place on Saltwater Creek in Timaru and in the school gym
- Rugby
- Snow Sports
- Softball
- Swimming
- Target Shooting
- Tennis
- Touch
- Triathlon & Duathlon
- Volleyball
The Sports Committee includes staff, students and whānau and organises fundraising events such as sausage sizzles and an annual Ambrose Golf Tournament. The school gymnasium is available for community group bookings.
Student Support and Pastoral Care
The Hauora Hub is the school's central wellbeing service, providing support to students and their whānau through a School Counsellor and a Youth and Whānau Mentor. Support is available one-on-one, in small groups, or through whānau meetings, and covers areas including emotional wellbeing, mental health, stress and anxiety, family support, goal-setting, and connecting students with community services. The service is free to all students and their immediate whānau, available in-person or by phone, and confidential.
The school also provides the following student support resources:
- Wellbeing Help Forms — year-level-specific forms available for students from Year 7 through to Year 13.
- Student Absence — a dedicated process, including an online form, for recording and managing student absences.
Frequently asked
These aren't generic answers — each one is built directly from Geraldine High 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 Geraldine High 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 | — | 7 September 2026 |
| Student roll | Ministry of Education / Education Counts | August 2026 | 7 September 2026 |
| Equity Index | Education Counts | — | 7 September 2026 |
| Address & coordinates | Ministry of Education | — | 7 September 2026 |
| Contact details | NZ Schools Directory | Current | 7 September 2026 |
| School information (AI-curated, human-reviewed) | Geraldine High School's official website | Current | 17 September 2026 |