Takapuna Grammar School is a state coeducational secondary school located in the suburb of Belmont on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 1927, the school mainly serves the eponymous suburb of Takapuna and the entire Devonport Peninsula. A total of 2142 students from Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18) attend the school as of July 2025.[1]
The foundation stone of Takapuna Grammar was laid on 6 April 1926[3], and the school officially opened for its first academic year on 7 February 1927, with an initial enrolment of over 200 students[4]. Takapuna Grammar School was the first co-educational school under the auspices of the Auckland Grammar School's Board, and established its own Board of Governors in 1955. The school retained the Auckland Grammar Lion and the motto "Per Angusta Ad Augusta" ("Through endeavour to greatness").[5]
Development
In the 2000s, a $6.4 million ministry-funded three-stage upgrade began at the school. The three-level building houses social science classrooms, a new library, and student service and social support centres were completed in the second term of 2009.[6] In late 2015, it was announced that $26 million redevelopment of the school's main block was to commence the following year. The main block, which was initially built in 1927 upon the school's establishment, was described by local MP Maggie Barry as an "appalling sight." The redevelopment of the main block coincided with similar work being done on the school's science block, which was completed mid-2016. The work on the main building, described as one of the most expensive in New Zealand's history,[7] was completed in 2020.[8]
Enrolment
Like many secondary schools in Auckland, Takapuna Grammar School operates an enrolment scheme to help curb roll numbers and prevent overcrowding. The school's enrolment zone, in which students residing are automatically entitled to be enrolled without rejection, covers the suburbs of Devonport, Narrow Neck, Bayswater, Belmont, Hauraki, Takapuna and parts of Milford.[9] Students residing outside the zone are accepted as roll places allow per the enrolment scheme order of preference and secret ballot, with siblings of current students getting first preference.
At the August 2011 Education Review Office (ERO) review of the school, Takapuna Grammar School had 1420 students, including 195 international students. Fifty-three percent of students were male and 47 percent were female. Sixty-five percent of students at the school identified as New Zealand European (Pākehā), nine percent as British or Irish, five percent as Māori, five percent as Korean, and three percent as Chinese.[10][needs update]
As of July 2025, Takapuna Grammar School has roll of 2142 students, of which 178 (8.3%) identify as Māori.[1]
As of 2025, the school has an Equity Index of 395,[11] placing it amongst schools whose students have the fewest socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 9 and 10 under the former socio-economic decile system).[12]
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