Last updated November 2026
Forest Lake School is a state, co-educational primary school for Years 1 to 6 at Storey Avenue, Forest Lake, Hamilton. It opened in 1926 and had 388 students on its roll at 1 October 2026.
Its home zone includes all of Forest Lake, and parts of Maeroa, Te Rapa, Avalon and Beerescourt; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
Children can learn in total immersion te reo Māori (Rumaki) or in English (Auraki), and the school offers kapa haka at whole-school, rumaki and competitive levels, the Kiwi Can values programme, weekly senior school sport and transition classes for children about to start school. The YMCA runs OSCAR-approved before and after school care and a holiday programme in the school hall.
At a glance
- Principal
- Christine Jessop
- Address
- Storey Avenue, Forest Lake, Hamilton
- Phone
- 07 849 2256
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Forest Lake.
Parts of Maeroa, Te Rapa, Avalon and Beerescourt Hamilton: 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 388 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.
Stand-downs and suspensions
Cases per 1,000 students in 2025, adjusted for the ages of the school’s students, compared with all New Zealand schools.
Suspensions: fewer than 5 cases in 2025, so no rate is shown.
These measure how a school responds to behaviour, and schools set their own thresholds, so they are not a measure of how students behave.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a School Profile Report from July 2023, written under Te Ara Huarau, ERO’s improvement evaluation approach. ERO and the school agreed to evaluate how well consistent, collaborative teaching helps students make faster progress in literacy and te reo matatini.
The strengths ERO listed were leaders and staff who recognise that student outcomes need to improve, structures designed to grow leadership capability, and a learning community with high expectations for student wellbeing.
The priority ERO set is for teachers and leaders to work together more effectively in using achievement information to plan targeted programmes that raise achievement.
Enrolling
Students who live in the home zone have the right to enrol. Out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places. The enrolment page explains when the ballot is held and asks out-of-zone families to contact the school.
In-zone families contact the office for an enrolment pack or to book a tour, and bring proof of address and the other documents listed on the enrolment page. New entrants start under the school’s cohort entry policy.
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 Forest Lake
Forest Lake School is in Forest Lake. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
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Questions parents ask
Is Forest Lake School zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Forest Lake and parts of Maeroa, Te Rapa, Avalon and Beerescourt Hamilton.
What years does it teach?
Years 1 to 6.
How many students go there?
388 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?
492. 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, 10 Nov 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).