Last updated October 2026
Cambridge High School is a state, co-educational secondary school for Years 9 to 13 at 25 Swayne Road, Cambridge. It opened in 1883 and had 1,742 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes all of Pukemoremore and Cambridge, and parts of Tamahere, Tauwhare, Matangi and Ōhaupō; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school’s site lists faculties from the arts and commerce through to technology, with French, Japanese and te reo Māori in the languages faculty, and a Whare Tautoko learning support hub with two specialist classrooms. Sport, performing arts and clubs run outside class, and the school takes international students.
At a glance
- Principal
- Paul McAvoy (Acting)
- Address
- 25 Swayne Road, Cambridge
- Phone
- 07-827 5415
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Pukemoremore near Hamilton and Cambridge near Hamilton.
Parts of Tamahere near Hamilton, Tauwhare near Hamilton, Matangi near Hamilton and Ōhaupō near 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.
NCEA results
School leavers with NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with all New Zealand school leavers.
This school New Zealand
School leavers are students who left school that year, whatever year level they left from.
Who goes here
Share of the 1,742 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
40 international students
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.
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 Evaluation Report from May 2026. ERO found the school had made progress on literacy since its previous review, helped by schoolwide teacher development, closer tracking of progress and better placement of students into support classes.
Results are rising and becoming more even across groups: in 2025 a large majority of students gained NCEA Level 1 and most gained Levels 2 and 3, and students who start below the expected level make faster progress. ERO also described clear strategic leadership, consistent and well-structured teaching, respectful relationships, and a well-organised pastoral and learning support system.
ERO noted that only a small majority of students attend regularly, although attendance is improving and chronic absence is falling. The priorities are to keep lifting outcomes for every group of learners and to improve and sustain regular attendance.
Leaders are to sharpen how they check the consistency of teaching and how they use junior achievement data to target support, and the board is to review its attendance plan every six months.
Read the ERO reports for Cambridge High School
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 school’s enrolment page holds the application forms and links the enrolment scheme, with its zone map, and the school’s zone policy. For students joining in Years 10 to 13, the school arranges a meeting with the relevant dean once the form arrives.
Schools nearby
In Cambridge near Hamilton
Cambridge High School is in Cambridge near Hamilton. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Cambridge near Hamilton guide →Questions parents ask
Is Cambridge High School zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Pukemoremore near Hamilton and Cambridge near Hamilton and parts of Tamahere near Hamilton, Tauwhare near Hamilton, Matangi near Hamilton and Ōhaupō near Hamilton.
What years does it teach?
Years 9 to 13.
How many students go there?
1,742 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?
447. 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.
How did its school leavers do in NCEA?
In 2025, 83.3% of its school leavers had NCEA Level 2 or above, compared with 77.8% of all New Zealand school leavers.
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). Updated automatically when the Ministry publishes new data.
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