Last updated October 2026
Makarewa School is a state, co-educational primary school for Years 1 to 6 at 56 Flora Road, Makarewa, Invercargill. It opened in 1885 and had 155 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes all of Lorneville and Makarewa, and parts of Tussock Creek; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school’s website notes a covered, heated swimming pool used for swimming lessons as part of physical education, supervision before and after school, and an after-school care programme at extra cost. It also lists a school bus route and community events such as calf club and pet day.
At a glance
- Principal
- Kevin Silcock
- Address
- 56 Flora Road, Makarewa, Invercargill
- Phone
- 03 235 8556
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Makarewa and Lorneville.
Parts of Tussock Creek near Invercargill: 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 155 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 Report from September 2026. ERO gave its highest judgement, Excelling, for attendance, with more than eight in ten children attending regularly, above the Government’s 80% target, and for teaching, which it found to be of high quality, with structured literacy well established in the junior classes.
Most other areas were rated as doing well: most children meet or exceed the expected level in reading and a large majority do so in writing and maths, children feel included and well known by staff, and leaders and the board plan and check progress carefully.
Results dipped in 2025 as the school got used to the new curriculum and new ways of assessing. Equity was rated as working towards, because boys still trail girls in writing, and the school is acting on this. The board met its regulatory requirements, and ERO was confident the school can make the improvements it set out.
ERO’s next steps are to raise achievement in reading, writing and maths with a particular focus on more even results in writing, to bring in the new maths curriculum consistently across every class, and to bed in the school’s Skills for Life curriculum so children can confidently use those skills at school and beyond.
Read the ERO reports for Makarewa School
Enrolling
Children who live in the home zone, including properties on both sides of boundary roads, have the right to enrol. Out-of-zone places are offered under the enrolment scheme when there is room, in enrolment periods advertised in the local newspaper, with a ballot if there are more applicants than places.
The school’s enrolment page has the zone map, the written zone description and the out-of-zone application form.
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 Makarewa
Makarewa School is in Makarewa. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Makarewa guide →Questions parents ask
Is Makarewa School zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Makarewa and Lorneville and parts of Tussock Creek near Invercargill.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 6.
How many students go there?
155 at 1 Sep 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?
440. 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, 22 Oct 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).