Key facts
- School number384
- School typeSecondary · Years 9–15
- AuthorityState
- GenderGirls School
- BoardingNo
- Language of instructionEnglish medium / other settings
- Established17 November 1858
About Queen's High School
Queen's High School | Te Kura Tuarua o Kuini is a state secondary school for girls, established in 1955 and located at 195 Surrey Street, St Clair, Dunedin. The school has a roll of approximately 620 students across Years 9 to 13.
The school is not faith-based or Māori-medium. Its stated motto is Amore Discimus Discendi Vivere — "Through love of learning we learn to live" — reflecting an emphasis on lifelong learning and the development of independent young women.
Queen's describes its mission as empowering young women through academic, sporting, cultural, and service pursuits in an inclusive environment. The school places particular emphasis on personalised learning as a feature of its curriculum approach.
Support for Māori students includes a dedicated teacher of Māori and access to a whānau class providing peer and teacher support. The school also has a coordinator for international students.
Enrolment
Enrolment scheme on recordQueen's 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 463, Queen's 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 Queen's 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 Queen's High School's own roll, so the shape of it is clear at a glance.
- European — 455 students (77.4%)
- Asian — 53 students (9%)
- Pacific — 58 students (9.9%)
- Māori — 148 students (25.2%)
- MELAA — 21 students (3.6%)
- Other — 3 students (0.5%)
- International — 7 students (1.2%)
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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St Clair School Contributing · Years 1–6 · 481 m
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Tahuna Normal Intermediate Intermediate · Years 7–8 · 2 km
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Concord School Contributing · Years 1–6 · 2.9 km
Further education in Dunedin
Explore tertiary providers based in Dunedin — not necessarily where Queen's 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 address195 Surrey Street
- SuburbSt Clair
- CityDunedin
- Local authorityDunedin City
Official contact details
- ContactBarbara Agnew
- Phone+64 3 455 7212
- Emailqhs@queens.school.nz
- Websitewww.queens.school.nz
Nearby schools
Schools physically closest to Queen's High School, regardless of year level.
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St Clair School Contributing · Years 1–6 · 481 m
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Tahuna Normal Intermediate Intermediate · Years 7–8 · 2 km
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Bayfield High School Secondary · Years 9–15 · 2.6 km
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Concord School Contributing · Years 1–6 · 2.9 km
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Otago Girls' High School Secondary · Years 9–15 · 3.2 km
Explore schools in Dunedin
Browse Dunedin schools by type, including primary, intermediate, secondary, composite and other schools.
Curriculum and NCEA
Queen's High School offers NCEA at Levels 1, 2, and 3, studied across Years 11, 12, and 13 respectively. Students gain credits through a combination of internal and external assessments across their chosen subjects. Credits can be accumulated over more than one year toward each certificate level.
Certificate endorsement with Merit or Excellence is available at each NCEA level, as is course endorsement within individual subjects. Students may also sit Scholarship exams, which are externally assessed and, if passed, appear on a student's Record of Achievement, though they carry no credits and do not contribute to an NCEA qualification.
Digital exams are offered in a number of subjects alongside traditional written exams.
Co-curricular Activities and Groups
Sport
Queen's High School fields teams in the following named sports, with regional and national competition participation noted where stated:
- 1st XI Football — trains Mondays at Tonga Park; competes in the Dunedin and South Otago Secondary School Girls' Competition and the New Zealand Secondary Schools National Tournament
- 2nd XI Football — trains Tuesdays at Tonga Park
- 3rd XI Football
- Aerobics — students have competed at national and international level; regional representatives noted
- Athletics — national and international success noted; regional representatives noted
- Basketball — national and international success noted; regional representatives noted
- Cricket — regional representatives noted
- Equestrian — regional representatives noted
- Futsal — regional representatives noted
- Gymnastics — national and international success noted; regional representatives noted
- Hockey — regional representatives noted
- Ice Figure Skating — national and international success noted
- Ice Hockey — national and international success noted; regional representatives noted
- Netball — regional representatives noted
- Rowing — regional representatives noted
- Rugby — regional representatives noted
- Rugby League — regional representatives noted
- Softball — national and international success noted; regional representatives noted
- Surf Life-Saving — national and international success noted; regional representatives noted
- Surfing — regional representatives noted
- Table Tennis — regional representatives noted
- Tennis — regional representatives noted
- Touch — regional representatives noted
- Triathlon — national and international success noted
- Volleyball — regional representatives noted
- Water Polo — regional representatives noted
Student Leadership
The following named student body operates within the sport programme:
- Student Sports Council — a student-led group that meets fortnightly, led by the Sports Prefect, Sports Associates, and year-group representatives from Years 9–13
Frequently asked
These aren't generic answers — each one is built directly from Queen's 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 Queen's 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) | Queen's High School's official website | Current | 21 September 2026 |