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Tawa Intermediate, Wellington

Intermediate · Years 7–8 · Co-Educational · Tawa, Wellington

A state intermediate school situated in the Tawa Valley, Wellington, serving students in the years 7–8 age group. The school has operated in the community for approximately 50 years and uses an enrolment zone covering the Tawa Basin.

Last checked 20 September 2026 · Roll data from August 2026

Jump to: About · Curriculum · Extracurricular · Student support

At a glance

TypeIntermediate · Years 7–8
LocationWellington
RegionWellington Region
School number3034
455
Students
as at August 2026
426
Equity Index
Yes
Enrolment scheme
Open
School status

Key facts

  • School number3034
  • School typeIntermediate · Years 7–8
  • AuthorityState
  • GenderCo-Educational
  • BoardingNo
  • Language of instructionEnglish medium / other settings
  • Established1 February 1975
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About Tawa Intermediate

Tawa Intermediate School is a state intermediate school located in the Tawa Valley, Wellington. The school sits on land belonging to Ngāti Toa Rangatiratanga and has served its local community for 50 years. It is led by Principal Prisca MacDonald, supported by two Deputy Principals.

The school is not faith-based or Māori-medium. Its curriculum combines a core focus on mathematics and English with a specialist teaching programme and weekly academies spanning sports, technology, and creative pursuits. The school maintains links with its contributing primary schools and with Tawa College to support student transitions at both ends of the intermediate years.

The school's approach to behaviour and relationships is grounded in Restorative Practice, a framework drawn from restorative justice principles that centres on repairing harm and relationships rather than punitive responses.

Tawa Intermediate's four school values are expressed in both te reo Māori and English, each paired with a visual symbol drawn from Māori and Pacific design traditions:

  • Aumangea — Courageous and Committed
  • Tupu — Capable, Curious, and Creative
  • Kotahitanga — Community
  • Manaakitanga — Caring

Enrolment

Enrolment scheme on record

Tawa Intermediate 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 426, Tawa Intermediate is below the 432 threshold newly required to opt into the donations scheme, though a school already receiving this funding from an earlier year may continue to do so. Outside the scheme, a school can still ask families for donations, but cannot compel or enforce payment.

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 Tawa Intermediate actually sits, not just the number on its own.

OFFICIAL DATA
426
Scale: 344–569
Band: Few (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 441.9
Tawa Intermediate 426

Student ethnicity

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

  • European — 255 students (56%)
  • Asian — 108 students (23.7%)
  • Pacific — 70 students (15.4%)
  • Māori — 91 students (20%)
  • MELAA — 21 students (4.6%)
  • Other — 1 students (0.2%)
  • International — 3 students (0.7%)

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.

Previous stage
Current stage — Tawa Intermediate
Intermediate · Years 7–8
Potential next stage

Location

View larger map on OpenStreetMap
  • Street addressRanui Terrace
  • SuburbTawa
  • CityWellington
  • Local authorityWellington City

Official contact details

Nearby schools

Schools physically closest to Tawa Intermediate, regardless of year level.

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Browse Wellington schools by type, including primary, intermediate, secondary, composite and other schools.

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Curriculum

Tawa Intermediate covers the intermediate school years. Its curriculum includes literacy and mathematics, with the school providing students access to Times Tables Rock Stars for basic facts practice.

A distinctive feature of the curriculum is a specialist rotation programme called Mātanga. Students cycle through five specialist subjects in six-week blocks, with two lessons per week. The five subjects are:

  • Mātanga Pūrau (STEM) — students follow the Engineering Design Process to address real-world problems, with access to 3D printers for prototyping
  • Mātanga Kai (Foods) — students apply a design process to food-related challenges, developing culinary skills and health and safety knowledge
  • Mātanga Toi (Art) — students work with clay, paint, and mixed media, exploring cultural, historical, and technological contexts of visual art
  • Mātanga Hangarau (Makerspace) — students use the Design Thinking Process to build a prototype, learning workshop skills in the process
  • Mātanga Toi Whaaraki (Performing Arts) — students work across music, dance, and drama, including writing and producing music and choreographing dances

Co-curricular Activities and Sports

Tawa Intermediate offers the following named sports, with teams selected during the year to represent the school in fixtures and tournaments:

  • Athletics
  • Basketball
  • Cricket
  • Cross-country
  • Football
  • Hockey
  • Ki-o-rahi
  • League
  • Netball
  • Rugby
  • Swimming
  • Tennis
  • Touch
  • Volleyball

The school also participates in two annual sports exchanges with other intermediate schools in Wellington.

Student Support Services

Tawa Intermediate provides the following named learning support and specialist services:

  • Learning Support (SENCo-coordinated): A Special Educational Needs Coordinator oversees in-class and specialised support programmes, working with a team that includes a fully qualified ESOL teacher, an ORS teacher, Feuerstein-trained staff, and kaiawhina/teacher aides.
  • ORS Support: The kaiawhina team works with ORS students using augmentative and alternative communication tools, including coreboards and Talkers, alongside visuals, timetables, social stories, and regulation strategies.
  • Feuerstein IE Programme: Available to selected students at no cost, this programme uses non-curricular cognitive exercises to develop analysis and reasoning skills. The school has offered it since 2015.
  • Small Group Programmes: Support groups run across academic, social, growth mindset, regulation, and executive function areas. Literacy groups have operated across each syndicate, focusing on reading comprehension, fluency, and writing vocabulary.
  • SPELD: An external service that operates on site at the school.
  • RTLB and Special Education Services: External agencies that provide additional specialist support as required.

Frequently asked

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

Tawa Intermediate is classified as a Intermediate school serving Years 7–8.

It's a state school in the Wellington 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. Tawa Intermediate 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.

455 students, according to the August 2026 roll data.

It reflects the estimated socio-economic barriers Tawa Intermediate'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 Tawa Intermediate'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) Tawa Intermediate's official website Current 20 September 2026