Primary Schools

Cannington School: Zone, Roll & School Facts

A small state, co-ed full primary school for Years 1 to 8 on Cannington Road in rural South Canterbury, with no home zone.

Last updated November 2026

Cannington School is a state, co-educational full primary school for Years 1 to 8 at 794 Cannington Road, Cannington. It opened in 1891 and had 20 students on its roll at 1 October 2026.

It has no home zone, so any student can apply. Its website describes a small rural school with multi-age grouping and individual learning programmes, and says most pupils travel by bus from as far as Cave and Maungati.

Students take part in sports tournaments, skiing, ice skating, a pet day and a yearly camp for the senior classes, and the school has a library, an adventure playground and a community swimming pool.

At a glance

TypePrimaryYears 1 to 8
Roll201 Oct 2026
AuthorityStateNot integrated
StudentsCo-edBoys and girls
Home zoneNoAny student can apply
Equity Index461Scale 344 to 569
Opened1891Boarding: no
TeachingEnglishAll classes
DonationsIn the donation scheme: the school does not ask families for donations, except for school camps.
Principal
Deane Power
Address
794 Cannington Road, Cannington
Visit the school website

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.

Who goes here

Share of the 20 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.

European95%
Māori15%
Roll at 1 July, 2021 to 20252021202220232024202514 in 2021 → 18 in 2025

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 August 2024. ERO found almost all students reaching or passing the level expected for them in reading, writing and maths. Students at risk of falling behind are known and watched closely, junior students get extra literacy help, and most students attend regularly.

The local curriculum was shaped with whānau, local businesses and the students themselves, and draws on local history and the environment. Te reo Māori and tikanga Māori are part of class programmes, and the board works closely with the principal.

The agreed next steps are to work with the local Kāhui Ako on a shared framework and learning progressions covering literacy, wellbeing and cultural competence, keep building a local curriculum around the goals of students and families, and involve students, teachers and whānau in curriculum decisions so Māori students succeed as Māori.

Read the ERO reports for Cannington School

Enrolling

Cannington School has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.

The school’s website has an online enrolment form, and the school office can answer questions about starting school and bus travel.

Schools nearby

Beaconsfield SchoolPrimary · Years 1 to 8 · roll 129 · zoned · 18 km
St Joseph's School (Pleasant Point)Primary · Years 1 to 8 · roll 47 · 19 km
Pleasant Point Primary SchoolPrimary · Years 1 to 8 · roll 243 · zoned · 19 km
Barton Rural SchoolPrimary · Years 1 to 8 · roll 187 · zoned · 20 km
All Timaru schools on the map

Where students go next

Local collegeRoncalli CollegeSecondary · Years 9 to 13 · roll 497 · zoned · 25 kmIts home zone covers this school’s address

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 Taiko

Cannington School is in Taiko. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.

Read our Taiko guide →

Questions parents ask

Is Cannington School zoned?

No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.

What years does it teach?

Years 1 to 8.

How many students go there?

20 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?

461. 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).