Last updated November 2026
Timaru Christian School is a state-integrated, co-educational composite school for Years 1 to 10 at 10 Quarry Road, Watlington, Timaru. It opened in 1996 and had 168 students on its roll at 1 October 2026.
It has an enrolment scheme, so check with the school whether your address is in its home zone. Its vision is Christ-centred learners with servant hearts, built on the values of love, grace, servanthood, truth and perseverance, and it is able to enrol international students.
The site lists a chess club, art classes, instrument lessons for older students with a music team that leads worship, regular camps for all ages, and sport through interschool events and local high school teams.
At a glance
- Principal
- Bethany Rentoul
- Address
- 10 Quarry Road, Watlington, Timaru
- Phone
- 03 688 1422
Home zone
Timaru Christian School has a home zone. The school can confirm whether your address is inside it.
Who goes here
Share of the 168 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
MELAA: Middle Eastern, Latin American and African.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a School Evaluation Report from December 2024. ERO found that outcomes for learners need improvement.
Achievement in reading, writing and maths had fallen over several years, ERO did not have confidence that the school’s progress and achievement information was valid, and gaps for Māori and Pacific learners in writing and maths were widening.
Teaching quality varied, curriculum planning did not yet give clear guidance, and policies needed a more rigorous review to give assurance that the school is compliant. On the positive side, the school meets the attendance target, with a large majority of learners attending regularly, and leaders have begun work on relationship-based learning and pastoral support.
The agreed next steps are to strengthen leadership systems to lift the quality and consistency of teaching in reading, writing and maths, develop a local curriculum grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, make assessment reliable across the school, and involve the community more in decisions.
ERO also recommended that the Secretary for Education consider intervention, in the form of specialist support for the school’s systems, policies and assessment practice.
Read the ERO reports for Timaru Christian School
Enrolling
As a state-integrated Christian school, Timaru Christian School asks families to start with an expression of interest form and to read its statement of faith, followed by an enrolment interview. The board keeps a dated waiting list for each year and offers places in order once it knows how many spaces are available.
Attendance dues apply, invoiced each term by the school’s proprietor and paid directly to it.
Schools nearby
In Watlington Timaru
Timaru Christian School is in Watlington Timaru. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Watlington Timaru guide →Questions parents ask
Is Timaru Christian School zoned?
It has a home zone. Ask the school whether your address is inside it.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 10.
How many students go there?
168 at 1 Oct 2026.
Does it ask for donations?
No. It is in the donation scheme, so it only asks for donations for school camps.
What is its Equity Index?
446. 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.
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).