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Tapawera Area School

Te Kura ā Rohe o Tapawera

With 'FIRE' in our hearts, empower, learn and grow.

Nā te hatete i te ngākau, ko whakamana, ko ako, ko whanake.

New Zealand Area Schools Association (NZASA)

National Student of Excellence Award

Congratulations to Shakaia

We are incredibly proud to celebrate Shakaia, who has been selected as one of just five students from all of the 112 Area Schools and Kura across the whole of New Zealand to receive a New Zealand Area Schools Association (NZASA) National Student of Excellence Award!

Shakaia has been recognised for her outstanding achievements, leadership and contribution to our school and community.

Having already achieved NCEA Level 3, Shakaia chose to return to school this year to work towards University Entrance (UE), with plans to study towards a degree in Social Work. Her commitment to her education and future is truly inspiring.

This year Shakaia was also selected for the TOSI National Area Schools teams in both Volleyball and Basketball and went on to be selected for the New Zealand Volleyball Team, and is one of our Head Students, where she is a positive role model and supports students, our school and wider community.

Shakaia is one of our cultural leaders, a high quality academic student, a great sportsperson and a wonderful community and school representative.

Congratulations, Shakaia! We are incredibly proud of you!

About Our School

Kia ora,

Tapawera Area School is a school that serves our local and wider community for students aged 5 to 19 years old. We have wonderful facilities which have been modernised recently and have some more major updates planned for 2026 and 2027. These facilities allow our students from an early age to experience and take part in specialist subject areas and facilities for earlier than they would at a ‘normal’ primary school.

We are close enough to Nelson to allow our senior students easy access to NMIT and Whenua Iti Trades Academies in years 11-13 for a huge range of high quality tertiary formatted courses.

We have Tapawera Kindergarten on our site allowing for amazing links pre and post starting our kura and playcentre is less than 100 meters away as well.

We currently have 5 school bus runs to service our wider community, free of charge to our families. Small class sizes, high quality subject specialist qualified teachers and a very strong learning support facility only adds to the value of our school.

We strive to succeed in giving multiple opportunities to all our students, some of which they would not get in larger urban schools. We pride ourselves on knowing every student's strengths and weaknesses and getting the best possible outcomes for them. We are large enough to provide for excellence and small enough to support all of our students and community needs. I look forward to meeting with you at any point and welcome questions or visits to our kura.

Andy Ashworth
Principal
“Providing Excellence, Opportunity and Equity for all”

What's happening at Tapawera Area School?

Upcoming Events in September

Fri 25

School Assembly 2.20pm

25 Sep 2026

Latest Notices

A View from The Board

21 Sep 2026

A View From The Board

As the end of term approaches, the Board would like to share an update on what has been happening at the school and what is planned for Term 4.

Measurable Results

At our latest Board meeting, we heard about the progress students have made through targeted maths and literacy programmes. Some students have achieved between six months and a year’s progress in a relatively short period.

These results reflect the value of targeted support in helping our students reach their potential.

Sporting Success

Congratulations to the students, coaches and managers who took part in the South Island Secondary Schools’ Netball Tournament. You represented our school well and should be proud of what you achieved. Also on Friday 18th September we had 2 Year 5 and 6 teams enter the Kahurangi Kiwi Volleyfest Tournament, with the teams coming first and third out of 28 school teams entered, well done to everyone involved.

Community Engagement

Community engagement has been a focus for the Board this term. Thank you to everyone who completed our survey or attended the 3 x 3 basketball tournament. It was a well-supported event, and we would welcome feedback on whether you would like to see more community evenings like this.

The feedback gathered from our community, staff and students showed clear agreement about the school’s strengths, areas for improvement and what a thriving school should look like. This information is now helping us develop our strategic plan for the next two years.

There was also strong agreement about the qualities our community would like to see in the next principal. Considerable work is happening behind the scenes to attract the best possible candidates. This includes applying for a Principal Recruitment Allowance, which could help us attract more high-calibre applicants. We hope to have this confirmed and the position advertised early in Term 4.

We also sought feedback on the school’s firearms policy. Most respondents supported allowing students to participate in activities involving firearms through off-site external providers. The Board supported this option, and it has now been adopted as school policy.

Students and their parents or guardians may opt out of these activities through the usual consent process. Any activity involving firearms must also receive prior approval from the Board.

School Pools

The period during which the pools are warm enough to use before the end of the year is limited. As our senior students will have finished school by then, the Board has decided to open only the small pool in Term 4.

The large pool will be opened in time for the Music in the Mountains fundraising weekend, shortly before Term 1 begins.

Any organisations or community groups interested in opening and operating the big pool earlier in the summer break are encouraged to contact the school.

School Schedule Next Year

The school is considering changing from six 50-minute modules each day to five 60-minute periods. The total teaching time would remain the same.

This timetable is used by many schools, and evidence suggests it can support stronger academic results, improve afternoon engagement and reduce behavioural issues.

The Board supports the proposed change. However, it would mean the school day finishing at 3:00 pm rather than 3:10 pm. Although this is only a 10-minute difference, we recognise that it may affect some families and their after-school care arrangements.

Before a final decision is made, we would like to hear from anyone who may be affected. Please contact the school or speak with a Board member.

Staff

Finally, we would like to thank our staff for their hard work and commitment throughout the term. We have seen several examples of targeted support leading directly to improved outcomes for students.

We would also like to acknowledge Robert Tilse, who has stepped seamlessly into the caretaker role. Robert has been a welcome addition to the team and has worked hard to keep the school looking its best as we move through spring and into summer.

We hope everyone enjoys the upcoming break. We look forward to seeing you again in Term 4 and at the Spring Show.

Alex Booth

Presiding Member

On behalf of the Tapawera Area School Board

Cricket School Holiday Programme. Boys and Girls ages 8-13.

21 Sep 2026

Cricket School Holiday Programme..

Looking for some cricket fun these school holidays? If your tamariki are interested in getting involved, please reach out to Nelson Cricket via https://www.nelsoncricket.org.nz or their facebook page for more information.