Key facts
- School number378
- School typeSecondary · Years 9–15
- AuthorityState
- GenderGirls School
- BoardingNo
- Language of instructionEnglish medium / other settings
- Established21 May 1870
Enrolment
Enrolment scheme on recordOtago Girls' 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 may be requested".
With an Equity Index of 439, Otago Girls' 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 Otago Girls' 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 Otago Girls' High School's own roll, so the shape of it is clear at a glance.
- European — 526 students (74.1%)
- Asian — 110 students (15.5%)
- Pacific — 43 students (6.1%)
- Māori — 101 students (14.2%)
- MELAA — 43 students (6.1%)
- Other — 12 students (1.7%)
- International — 28 students (3.9%)
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.
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Balmacewen Intermediate Intermediate · Years 7–8 · 2 km
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Ōpoho School Contributing · Years 1–6 · 3.6 km
Further education in Dunedin
Explore tertiary providers based in Dunedin — not necessarily where Otago Girls' High School's own students go on to study.
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University of Otago Universities
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Otago Polytechnic Institutes of Technology & Polytechnics
Location
- Street address41 Tennyson Street
- CityDunedin
- Local authorityDunedin City
Official contact details
- ContactBridget Davidson
- Phone+64 3 474 0496
- Emailoghsadmin@otagogirls.school.nz
- Websitewww.otagogirls.school.nz
Nearby schools
Schools physically closest to Otago Girls' High School, regardless of year level.
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Balmacewen Intermediate Intermediate · Years 7–8 · 2 km
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Logan Park High School Secondary · Years 9–15 · 2.7 km
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Bayfield High School Secondary · Years 9–15 · 2.9 km
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Ōpoho School Contributing · Years 1–6 · 3.6 km
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Amana Christian School Composite · Years 1–15 · 11.4 km
Explore schools in Dunedin
Browse Dunedin schools by type, including primary, intermediate, secondary, composite and other schools.
Curriculum
Otago Girls' High School offers 45 subjects taught by 60 teachers across a school of 750 students. Year 9 students choose 10 subjects in total, with a maximum class size of 26 students. All courses include pathways to University Entrance level.
The curriculum is organised into the following broad areas, with the number of options in each:
- Languages: five options — Te Reo Māori, Spanish, Japanese, French, and English for Second Language learners
- Arts: nine options
- Social sciences: eight options
- Technology: six options
- Mathematics: five pathways
- Science: four senior subjects
- Physical education and health: four options, including outdoor education
- English: offered as English, English Literacy, and English for Second Language learners, with curriculum reading and literacy support
The school also runs a Gateway programme (15 students) and an Otago Secondary Tertiary College pathway (8 students). The library holds over 10,000 physical and audiobook resources, including a dyslexia-friendly collection, and junior students participate in a Summer Reading Challenge.
NCEA pass rates reported for 2025 were 90.3% at Level 2 and 84.8% at Level 3, both above the national average.
Student Support and Pastoral Care
The following named support roles and structures are described on the school's student support page.
- Deans — provide care and support around students as part of the school's pastoral network.
- School counsellors — provide care and support around students alongside other pastoral staff.
- Whānau teachers — part of the pastoral team that wraps care and support around students.
- Mentors — work alongside deans, counsellors, and whānau teachers to support students.
- Careers Department — assists students with decision-making and goal setting.
- PB4L Prefects — two prefects who engage with students, offer perspectives, and promote the school's PB4L values of Respect, Positivity, and Integrity.
- Sisters programme — introduced in 2023, pairs Year 13 students with Year 9 students in a tuakana-teina relationship, with Year 13 students meeting and supporting their Year 9 partner throughout the year.
Frequently asked
These aren't generic answers — each one is built directly from Otago Girls' 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 Otago Girls' 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) | Otago Girls' High School's official website | Current | 18 September 2026 |