Rolleston College
Co-educational secondary (year 9–13) school in Rolleston
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rolleston College is a co-educational state high school in the town of Rolleston, New Zealand.[2][3] It is the only secondary school in the town.[3] The school is one of the largest secondary schools in the South Island, with 1,783 students attending as of October 2025.[4][5]
(The seed will not be lost.)
| Rolleston College | |
|---|---|
Horoeka Haemata | |
| |
 Rolleston College in 2021 | |
| Location | |
 | |
631 Springston Rolleston Road Canterbury Rolleston , 7678 | |
| Information | |
| School type | State co-educational secondary (Year 9–13) |
| Motto | Māori: He kākano i ruia mai i Rangiatea. (The seed will not be lost.) |
| Opened | 30 January 2017 |
| School board | Board of Trustees |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 654 |
| Chairperson | Leanne Chapman |
| Principal | Rachel Skelton |
| Key people | Sophie Ralph, Cameron Winsloe, Raewyn Hooper, Ryan Wilson, Alby Wilson, Kelly Tippett, Seb Surry, Bronwyn Hoy, Sarah Forward[1] |
| Enrollment | 1,846 (October 2025) |
| Website | https://www.rollestoncollege.nz/ |
History
Construction on the school began in July 2015, and was completed in January 2017.[6]
Rolleston College was opened on 30 January 2017, and was initially open only to Year 9 students in the first year of secondary school. The school added year levels annually as the 2017 Year 9 cohort moved through; the school opened to all year levels (Years 9 to 13) in January 2021.[7]
At the time of opening, Rolleston College was the first state high school to open in Canterbury in more than 30 years.[8] Prior to Rolleston College's opening, the nearest secondary school to Rolleston was Lincoln High School in the town of Lincoln.[9]
Staff
Senior Campus expansion
In 2021, The Ministry of Education announced plans to create a second campus, as the original campus was not designed to cater for upwards of 1,500 students.[13] The second campus was planned to house senior students, while the original campus would be exclusively for juniors.[14] The second campus was officially opened in February 2026.[15]
The decision to open a second campus was met with criticism, with some critics saying that opting to create a second secondary school in Rolleston would have been the more favorable decision.[16]
Then-Minister of Education Chris Hipkins said at the end of 2021, when making the land purchase announcement, that the expansion would take the college’s capacity to about 3400 students.[17] If the school reaches or exceeds its future capacity, it would make Rolleston College the largest school in New Zealand, beating out Rangitoto College in Auckland, which has around 3200 students.[5]
Enrolment
As of October 2025, Rolleston College has roll of 1,846 students, of which 231 (12.5%) identify as Māori.[4]
As of 2026, the school has an Equity Index of 449,[18] placing it amongst schools whose students have average socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 5 and 6 under the former socio-economic decile system).[19]