A nurturing rural full primary school for Years 1–8, located just 8km east of Whanganui.
Nestled on five picturesque acres of trees, gardens, play areas, and pasture, Okoia School offers a unique and inspiring environment for learning. Our peaceful rural setting provides the perfect backdrop for children to grow, explore, and thrive.
We are proud to maintain small class sizes across our three classrooms, with an average teacher-to-student ratio of 1:18. This allows us to offer personalised teaching, focused small-group instruction, and greater one-on-one support—ensuring each child’s learning needs are met.
At Okoia School, we strive to provide a safe, inclusive, and engaging learning environment that nurtures every aspect of a child’s development—academic, emotional, social, and physical. We set high expectations for both learning and behaviour and are proud of the consistently positive outcomes our students achieve.
With a roll of around 50–60 students, our school fosters a strong sense of community. We value open communication and have a true ‘open door’ policy, encouraging families to be active participants in school life.
Come and discover the Okoia difference—where every child is known, valued, and supported to succeed.
Okoia School – Learning in the Heart of the Country
At Okoia School, we embrace the benefits of being a small rural full primary school, located just 8km east of Whanganui. With a roll of around 50–60 students across three classes, we are proud to offer small class sizes and a low student-to-teacher ratio. This enables us to cater to individual learning needs and provide personalised support for every student.
Our school is built around strong core values: Responsibility, Relationships, Respect, and Resilience. These values guide everything we do and are central to who we are and how we be at Okoia School. We strive to create an environment where every child has the opportunity to thrive—academically, socially, emotionally, and physically—and to gain the skills they need for their lifelong learning journey.
We offer a balanced curriculum, with a strong focus on the foundational 3 R’s — Reading, Writing, and Mathematics — while also providing rich learning experiences across all curriculum areas. Each student has access to their own ICT device, supporting digital learning and helping them engage with the modern world.
Our beautiful 5-acre grounds, featuring trees, gardens, pasture, and open play areas, provide a peaceful and stimulating environment for learning and discovery.
We warmly welcome new families to become part of our school community. In the months leading up to your child’s first day, we invite you to participate in our transition-to-school programme. You and your child are welcome to join the classroom for morning sessions, helping to build positive relationships with teachers and classmates in a calm, supportive setting.
At Okoia School, we value connection, community, and care—and we look forward to welcoming your family.
We warmly welcome new families to become part of our school community. In the months leading up to your child’s first day, we invite you to participate in our transition-to-school programme. You and your child are welcome to join the classroom for morning sessions, helping to build positive relationships with teachers and classmates in a calm, supportive setting.
This is an important process that ensures the transition to school is a positive experience. It also provides a valuable opportunity for you to meet all teaching staff and gain a clear understanding of how the classroom and wider school operates.
Our core values are the 4 R’s - Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Relationships. These values are regularly discussed, taught and displayed throughout the school. Our values underpin our school expectations and beliefs and our students know and understand them. Our learner’s behaviour, learning, actions and successes aim to reflect these.
Respect for ourselves and others, for our environment and our learning.
Positive relationships at school, at home, in the community and in my learning.
Kia Kaha to deal effectively with the challenges we encounter in learning and life.
For ourselves, our learning and actions.