Last updated October 2026
Sacred Heart Girls’ College is a state-integrated, girls’ secondary school for Years 9 to 13 at 52 Clyde Street, Hamilton East, Hamilton. It opened in 1884 and had 933 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
It has no home zone, so any student can apply. Its website describes a Catholic school that keeps links with the Sisters of the Missions who founded it, with a wide range of sports supported by a fitness centre and on-site physiotherapy, and arts and culture that include music, drama, dance, kapa haka, a Pasifika group and school productions. It also welcomes international students, with homestay accommodation and English language support.
At a glance
- Principal
- Catherine Gunn
- Address
- 52 Clyde Street, Hamilton East, Hamilton
- Phone
- 07 856 7874
Home zone
No home zone: any student can apply to enrol. If more students apply than there are places, the school decides how places are offered.
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 933 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
30 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.
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 Evaluation Report from February 2025. ERO found that work on the school’s pastoral care had led to closer contact with whānau, more student voice and a more positive culture for learning, and that Māori and Pacific students felt a stronger sense of belonging.
Most students make progress and achieve well: most gain NCEA Level 1 and 2, a large majority gain Level 3 and University Entrance, and most leave with a meaningful qualification and pathway.
A majority of Year 9 and 10 students are progressing against expected curriculum levels, and students with additional learning needs get very good support. Attendance is a concern, with only a small majority attending regularly, though the school is moving towards government targets.
ERO’s next steps are to keep strengthening the school’s systems and initiatives so that Māori and Pacific students achieve equitable outcomes, to continue working on regular attendance, and to embed effective teaching while putting changes to the New Zealand Curriculum in place. Leaders are to report to the board on attendance patterns and on the results of the targeted support.
Read the ERO reports for Sacred Heart Girls’ College (Ham)
Enrolling
As a Catholic state-integrated school, Sacred Heart gives preference of enrolment to students whose parents have a connection with the Catholic faith, shown by a preference certificate from the local parish. It also welcomes non-preference students, giving priority among them to girls coming from Catholic primary schools. Families apply online and upload documents such as a birth certificate or passport.
Attendance dues are compulsory and are paid to the Mission College Hamilton Trust Board, which owns the school’s land and buildings. The college’s fees page lists these alongside course costs and voluntary donations.
Schools nearby
In Hamilton East
Sacred Heart Girls' College (Ham) is in Hamilton East. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Hamilton East guide →Questions parents ask
Is Sacred Heart Girls' College (Ham) zoned?
No. It has no home zone, so any student can apply to enrol.
What years does it teach?
Years 9 to 13.
How many students go there?
933 at 1 Sep 2026.
Does it ask for donations?
It may. It is not in the donation scheme, so it can ask families for donations.
What is its Equity Index?
439. 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.
Is it a single-sex school?
Yes. It takes girls only.
How did its school leavers do in NCEA?
In 2025, 90.3% 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). 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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