Russell Street School, Palmerston North

Key facts

About Russell Street School

Russell Street School is a state primary school located in the hospital area of Palmerston North, serving students from Years 1 to 6. The school roll stands at approximately 350 students supported by 35 staff.

The school's zone is broadly bounded by Grey Street, North Street, Tremaine Avenue, and Ruahine Street. The student population includes 22% Māori, 51% NZ European, 11% Indian, and 3% Chinese learners.

Russell Street School offers two distinct learning pathways:

• English medium, beginning in a learning environment called Waka Huia, which uses play-based learning as its foundation. Students then move into teaching teams named Te Ikaroa or Taiao, grouped by year level (Year 1/2, Year 3/4, and Year 5/6).
• Poutokomanawa, a Level 3 Māori immersion pathway in which te reo Māori, tikanga, waiata, and Māori learning contexts are used across the New Zealand Curriculum. This pathway is vertically grouped, with learners from across year levels working together.

The school's stated values framework is organised around three principles — Empower, Enrich, and Excel — alongside a set of Māori values including Manaakitanga, Whakawhanaungatanga, Kotahitanga, and Wairua.

Facilities on site include classrooms, a library, hall, swimming pool, playground, scooter and bike tracks, a sports turf, and playing fields. Several of these facilities are also available for public use.

Enrolment

Russell Street School operates an enrolment scheme administered by its Board of Trustees to manage capacity. Students living within the defined home zone are entitled to enrol. Out-of-zone places are offered by ballot, with four ballots scheduled throughout the year.

Home zone boundaries

The home zone is bounded by:

• The railway side of Tremaine Avenue between North and Ruahine streets
• Ruahine Street (hospital side) from Tremaine Avenue to Featherston Street
• Featherston Street (Papaioea Park side) down to Albert Street
• Both sides of Albert Street from Featherston Street to Grey Street
• The Aorangi Hospital side of Grey Street from Albert to Carroll Street
• Both sides of Carroll Street and diagonally across Featherston Street
• Both sides of North Street

Enrolment steps

All applicants — whether in-zone, out-of-zone, or transferring from another school — begin by submitting a pre-enrolment form. In-zone families must provide proof of address. For children approaching school age, the teacher overseeing the transition to school process contacts families in the term before the child starts to arrange visits and provide the formal enrolment form.

From the start of the 2026 school year, Russell Street School will use a cohort entry approach, meaning children starting school for the first time will begin on set dates in groups rather than on or after their individual fifth birthday.

Required documents

• Proof of the child's eligibility: a New Zealand birth certificate or passport (NZ citizens), an Australian passport (Australian citizens), or a NZ residency permit or student visa and parental work permit (non-citizens)
• Proof of address within the home zone (e.g. utilities bill, rental or sales agreement) — required for in-zone applicants
• Any applicable court order documents

Out-of-zone priority order

Where out-of-zone applications exceed available places, the school's enrolment scheme ranks applicants in the following order:

• Siblings of current students
• Siblings of former students
• Children of former students
• Children of Board employees or Board members
• All other applicants

If any priority group has more applicants than available places, selection within that group is by ballot conducted under Section 11G(1) of the Education Act 1989.

Co-curricular Activities

Team Sports

The following team sports are offered across the school year, played outside school hours. The Sports Coordinator is Lauren Appleyard.

• Netball (Terms 1 and 4)
• Summer Hockey (Terms 1 and 4)
• Summer Soccer (Terms 1 and 4)
• Flippaball (Term 1)
• Winter Hockey (Terms 2 and 3)
• Basketball (Terms 2 and 3)

School Sports Events

Students participate in the following school-wide and interschool sports events:

• Swimming Sports and Northern Cluster Swimming Interschool (Term 1)
• Triathlon (Term 1)
• Rippa Rugby Tournament (Term 1)
• NFL Flag Tournament (Term 2)
• Ki o Rahi Tournament (Term 2)
• Cross Country and Interschool Cross Country (Term 2)
• RICOH Tournament (Term 3)
• Douglas Park Sports' Exchange (Term 3)
• Athletics and Interschool Athletics (Term 4)

Arts and Culture

The school runs the following named arts and cultural groups:

• Te Pikinga — one of three Kapa Haka Rōpū, practising every Friday, led by Paige, Rosie, and Fabian; all groups perform at Pae Tamariki annually
• Te Piriti — one of three Kapa Haka Rōpū, practising every Friday
• Te Kākano — one of three Kapa Haka Rōpū, practising every Friday; in even years, a competitive group is selected by audition to compete at Ko Whiri Tika Mai
• All Comers dance group (Years 3–6) — competes at Dance NZ Made each year; taught by Lorna and Rachel
• Auditioned dance group (Years 4–6) — competes at Dance NZ Made each year
• School Choir (Years 3–6) — meets weekly at lunchtime, conducted by Lorna; performs at events inside and outside school
• EPIC Music — an external provider on site Mondays and Wednesdays offering lessons in foundations, guitar, drums, and keyboard for Years 0–6; also runs the school band

Academic Competitions

Students participate in the following named academic events:

• Manawatū Lit Quiz (Term 2)
• Kiwi Competitions in English, Science, and Maths (Terms 2 and 3)
• Mathex (Term 3)
• Northern Cluster Speech Competition (Term 3, even years only)