Last updated November 2026
Grantlea Downs School is a state, co-educational full primary school for Years 1 to 8 at 65 Grants Road, Marchwiel, Timaru. It opened in 2005 and had 304 students on its roll at 1 October 2026.
Its home zone includes all of Seadown, Oceanview and Smithfield, and parts of Washdyke, Levels, Waimataitai, Kerrytown and Marchwiel; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school’s website describes a daily focus on reading, writing and maths alongside the arts, science, technology and health and PE, and an outdoor education programme for every student. Senior students go on camp or take part in snow and ice activities in alternating years.
At a glance
- Principal
- Beth Wills
- Address
- 65 Grants Road, Marchwiel, Timaru
- Phone
- 03 684 7706
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Oceanview, Seadown and Smithfield.
Parts of Washdyke Timaru, Levels, Waimataitai Timaru, Kerrytown, Marchwiel Timaru and Washdyke Flat: check your street.
Zone boundaries are set by the school’s enrolment scheme and can change. Confirm your address with the school before you rely on it.
Who goes here
Share of the 304 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.
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.
Suspensions: fewer than 5 cases in 2025, so no rate is shown.
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 Te Ara Huarau School Profile Report from April 2023. A profile report sets out what ERO and the school will evaluate together rather than giving full achievement results. Here the focus is a clear literacy teaching pathway from Year 1 to Year 8.
The school’s own data showed a majority of students well supported to reach expected levels in reading and writing, and the evaluation looks at groups who are not reaching their potential. ERO noted settled, positive learning environments shaped by the school’s values, some targeted teacher training in literacy, and a management system that connects families with their children’s learning.
ERO said the school will now evaluate how its teaching affects success in writing, use that work to write clear literacy teaching guidelines that fit its local curriculum, and keep training staff in culturally responsive teaching, guided by Ka Hikitia, the Māori education strategy.
Read the ERO reports for Grantlea Downs School
Enrolling
Grantlea Downs School runs an enrolment scheme. Students who live in the home zone have an automatic right to enrol. Families outside the zone complete an out-of-zone application, and places are decided by ballot when there are more applicants than places.
The school encourages families to pre-enrol well before a child turns five, and asks for a birth certificate and proof of address. Its enrolment page links to the zone street list.
Schools nearby
Where students go next
Based on home zones around the school’s own address. Families can apply to any school, and your own address decides which zones you are in.
In Marchwiel Timaru
Grantlea Downs School is in Marchwiel Timaru. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Marchwiel Timaru guide →Questions parents ask
Is Grantlea Downs School zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Oceanview, Seadown and Smithfield and parts of Washdyke Timaru, Levels, Waimataitai Timaru, Kerrytown, Marchwiel Timaru and Washdyke Flat.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 8.
How many students go there?
304 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?
498. 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). Home zone: Ministry of Education enrolment zones (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).