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Mountainview High School, Timaru

Secondary · Years 9–15 · Co-Educational · Timaru

A state secondary school serving the South Canterbury region, it traces its origins to Timaru Technical School, founded in 1901, and moved to its current Pages Road site in Timaru in 1984 when it was formally established under its present name.

Last checked 18 September 2026 · Roll data from August 2026

Jump to: About · Curriculum · Extracurricular

At a glance

TypeSecondary · Years 9–15
LocationTimaru
RegionCanterbury Region
School number359
453
Students
as at August 2026
494
Equity Index
Yes
Enrolment scheme
Open
School status

Key facts

  • School number359
  • School typeSecondary · Years 9–15
  • AuthorityState
  • GenderCo-Educational
  • BoardingNo
  • Language of instructionEnglish medium / other settings
  • Established1 February 1901
See NZ school term dates & holidays →

About Mountainview High School

Mountainview High School is a secondary school located on Pages Road, Timaru, serving South Canterbury. It opened at its current site in 1984, when the secondary section of the former Timaru College relocated there. The post-secondary technical section remained on Arthur Street and later became Aoraki Polytechnic.

The school's origins date to 1901, when Timaru Technical School was founded as a co-educational evening school. The institution passed through several name changes — Timaru Technical College (1918), Timaru Technical High School (1934), and Timaru College (1967) — before the secondary section was established as Mountainview High School.

The school was built around a whānau or extended family structure, with three whānau groups named Hiwi, Moana, and Whenua, reflecting orientations toward the mountains, land, and sea respectively. The site includes a four-hectare agriculture-horticulture block.

The school is not faith-based or Māori-medium. It states a commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and frames its approach to Māori learners around the Ka Hikitia framework, with input from a Māori school leader and local iwi. Its five stated values are Whanaungatanga, Manaakitanga, Rangatiratanga, Kaitiakitanga, and Pūkengatanga.

Enrolment

Enrolment scheme on record

Mountainview 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 494, Mountainview 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 Mountainview High School actually sits, not just the number on its own.

OFFICIAL DATA
494
Scale: 344–569
Band: Many (2026)
WHAT IT MEANS

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 →

EQI scale (344–569)
Directory avg 444.7
Mountainview High School 494

Student ethnicity

The Ministry publishes this as a raw table — here it's visualised directly against Mountainview High School's own roll, so the shape of it is clear at a glance.

  • European — 356 students (78.6%)
  • Asian — 31 students (6.8%)
  • Pacific — 15 students (3.3%)
  • Māori — 62 students (13.7%)
  • MELAA — 35 students (7.7%)
  • Other — 2 students (0.4%)
  • International — 20 students (4.4%)

Percentages may sum to more than 100% because students can identify with more than one ethnic group.

Location

View larger map on OpenStreetMap
  • Street addressPages Road
  • CityTimaru
  • Local authorityTimaru District

Official contact details

Nearby schools

Schools physically closest to Mountainview High School, regardless of year level.

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Curriculum

Mountainview High School follows the New Zealand Curriculum across Years 9 to 13. In Years 9 and 10, students take a broad range of core and option subjects. At Year 11, English, Science, and Mathematics are compulsory; at Year 12, only English is compulsory; and at Year 13, there are no compulsory subjects. NCEA is offered at Levels 1, 2, and 3.

Year 13 students can access outreach courses from Canterbury University, Lincoln University, and the University of Otago.

Health Education is compulsory for all students. In Years 9 and 10 it is delivered as part of the Junior Physical Education Programme, supplemented by topics from external providers. At senior level, Health Education is available at NCEA Levels 1, 2, and 3, covering areas including Hauora, Mental Health, Substances that impact Well-Being, and Relationship & Sexuality Education.

Sports and Activities

Mountainview High School offers the following sports:

  • Archery
  • Badminton
  • Basketball
  • Claybird Target Shooting
  • Cricket
  • Cycling
  • Futsal
  • Golf
  • Hockey
  • Summer Hockey
  • Lawn Bowls
  • Multisport
  • Netball
  • Pool/Darts
  • Rock Climbing
  • Rugby
  • Smallbore Rifle Shooting
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Tennis
  • Touch
  • Volleyball

The school also participates in interschool exchanges that may include chess, debating, and theatre sports.

Frequently asked

These aren't generic answers — each one is built directly from Mountainview High School's own official Ministry of Education data already shown on this page, so what you read here always matches the figures above.

Mountainview High School is classified as a Secondary (Year 9-15) school serving Years 9–15.

It's a state school in the Canterbury region. New Zealand domestic students are generally entitled to free enrolment and education at state schools.

Yes. It's a co-educational school, enrolling both boys and girls.

Yes. Mountainview 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.

453 students, according to the August 2026 roll data.

It reflects the estimated socio-economic barriers Mountainview High School's students face, on average. The Ministry uses the Equity Index to help target funding and support. It is not a measure of school quality or academic performance.

Sources & methodology

Every fact on this page traces back to one of the rows below — official Ministry of Education data, or Mountainview High School's own published information, reviewed before publication. Nothing here is inferred or estimated beyond what its source actually states.

DataSourceData periodLast 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) Mountainview High School's official website Current 18 September 2026