Last updated October 2026
Fairfield College is a state, co-educational secondary school for Years 9 to 13 at 25 Bankwood Road, Chartwell, Hamilton. It opened in 1957 and had 929 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes all of Fairfield, Enderley, Claudelands, Chartwell and Chedworth Park, and parts of Queenwood, Ruakura, Harrowfield, Hamilton East and Fairview Downs; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school’s site sets out senior pathways that include a senior foundation programme, Gateway, pre-employment training and courses with Wintec and Primary ITO, and its sports range from rugby, netball and football to waka ama, kī-o-rahi and ultimate frisbee. Fairfield is a mufti school with a dress code rather than a uniform.
At a glance
- Principal
- Richard Crawford
- Address
- 25 Bankwood Road, Chartwell, Hamilton
- Phone
- 07 853 5660
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Enderley Hamilton, Fairfield Hamilton, Chartwell Hamilton, Claudelands Hamilton and Chedworth Park.
Parts of Queenwood Hamilton, Ruakura, Harrowfield, Hamilton East and Fairview Downs 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 929 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.
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 October 2025. ERO found the school had not yet made enough progress on student outcomes and attendance since its previous review.
Less than half of students gain NCEA Levels 2 and 3, few gain University Entrance, Māori students’ results lag behind, and NCEA literacy and numeracy results fell sharply in 2024.
About a third of students attend regularly and 35% are chronically absent. On the positive side, ERO noted that leaders have set sensible goals and are building trust and collaboration, teaching is becoming more culturally responsive, and senior students have wide links with tertiary providers, training organisations and employers for vocational pathways.
ERO recommended that the Ministry of Education consider appointing a limited statutory manager to help lift attendance, achievement, learning support and the quality of teaching and curriculum.
The school’s priorities are to strengthen leadership, urgently improve Year 9 and 10 reading and writing, build stronger foundations for NCEA and other pathways, review learning support so every student who needs it is reached, and make better use of progress and achievement data.
Read the ERO reports for Fairfield College
Enrolling
Students who live in the home zone have the right to enrol, and proof of residence is needed. Out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places. The school publishes the number of out-of-zone places and the application and ballot dates in its enrolment information each year.
Applications are made online through the enrolment page, which also links a street list for the zone. The school’s enrolment information describes a student profile, a profile from the previous teacher, and an interview with a dean or senior leader, and it encourages prospective Year 9 students to come to the open day.
Schools nearby
In Chartwell Hamilton
Fairfield College is in Chartwell Hamilton. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Chartwell Hamilton guide →Questions parents ask
Is Fairfield College zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Enderley Hamilton, Fairfield Hamilton, Chartwell Hamilton, Claudelands Hamilton and Chedworth Park and parts of Queenwood Hamilton, Ruakura, Harrowfield, Hamilton East and Fairview Downs Hamilton.
What years does it teach?
Years 9 to 13.
How many students go there?
929 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?
527. 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, 43% 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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