Last updated November 2026
Timaru Boys’ High School is a state, boys’ secondary school for Years 9 to 13 at 211 North Street, West End, Timaru. It opened in 1880 and had 777 students on its roll at 1 October 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. Its site covers junior and senior learning programmes, the Mana Tāngata programme, Taha Māori with the combined kapa haka group Ngā Manu Kura, and visual art, drama and music.
Boarders live in Thomas House on the school grounds, the school takes international students, and senior students can take an aviation course with the South Canterbury Aero Club, working towards a private pilot licence alongside their school qualifications.
At a glance
- Principal
- Dave Thorp
- Address
- 211 North Street, West End, Timaru
- Phone
- 03 687 7560
Home zone
No home zone: any student can apply to enrol. If more students apply than there are places, the school decides how places are offered.
NCEA results
School leavers with NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with all New Zealand school leavers.
This school New Zealand
School leavers are students who left school that year, whatever year level they left from.
Who goes here
Share of the 777 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
22 international students
MELAA: Middle Eastern, Latin American and African.
Stand-downs and suspensions
Cases per 1,000 students in 2025, adjusted for the ages of the school’s students, compared with all New Zealand schools.
These measure how a school responds to behaviour, and schools set their own thresholds, so they are not a measure of how students behave.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a School Report from August 2026, which rated the school as doing well in most of the areas ERO looks at.
ERO found that most students gain NCEA Level 2 and a large majority gain Levels 1 and 3, with Level 2 and 3 results steady over time, although the share of Year 11 students meeting the literacy and numeracy requirements has dropped, especially in literacy, and writing is a weaker area.
Teaching was judged effective and more consistent, with calm, well-ordered classes, a broad curriculum with a good range of pathways, and well-run support for students with additional needs. Students told ERO they feel they belong.
Two areas were rated as working towards the expected standard: attendance, which is rising but still covers only a small majority of students, and equity, with Māori students behind their peers in NCEA Level 1 and 2 results and in meeting the literacy and numeracy requirements.
The board met its regulatory requirements, Thomas House is covered in a separate ERO report, and ERO was confident the school can make the improvements it set out.
ERO’s next steps are to lift writing achievement through shared teaching approaches that work, to give the board a wider view of student outcomes with a sharper focus on equity so it can hold leaders to account, to make assessment and reporting in the junior years more consistent so leaders can follow progress there, and to keep working through the school’s attendance plan to raise regular attendance.
Read the ERO reports for Timaru Boys’ High School
Enrolling
There is no home zone, and the school welcomes students from Timaru and the wider Aoraki region. Enrolment forms for day boys are accepted throughout the year and can be handed in at the school office, emailed or posted with a copy of the student’s birth certificate. Families are then invited to an interview.
Boarders apply on the same form, and the school publishes its boarding application deadline on its enrolment page. Boarding families also have an interview and can tour Thomas House.
Schools nearby
In West End
Timaru Boys' High School is in West End. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our West End guide →Questions parents ask
Is Timaru Boys' High School zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 9 to 13.
How many students go there?
777 at 1 Oct 2026.
Does it ask for donations?
It may. It is not in the donation scheme, so it can ask families for donations.
What is its Equity Index?
457. The Ministry of Education’s Equity Index estimates the socio-economic barriers a school’s students face, from 344 (fewest) to 569 (most). It is used to share out funding, not as a measure of quality.
Is it a single-sex school?
Yes. It takes boys only.
How did its school leavers do in NCEA?
In 2025, 75.4% of its school leavers had NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with 77.8% of all New Zealand school leavers.
Updated automatically when the Ministry publishes new data.
Spotted something incorrect on this page? Let us know.
Sources and data notes 1
- School facts: School details and roll: Ministry of Education school directory, 7 Nov 2026 (CC BY 4.0). NCEA results, roll history and stand-downs: Education Counts, school leavers 2023 to 2025, stand-downs 2025, rolls 2021 to 2025 (CC BY 4.0).