Best Schools in Queenstown: How to Find the Right Fit
Compare all 17 Queenstown-Lakes schools by zone, year level, EQI and ERO, not a league table. Find the one that actually fits your family.
By BoundFor Team
There's no single best school in Queenstown, and the question itself needs an honest caveat first: "Queenstown" isn't really a school district. The Ministry of Education organises it as the Queenstown-Lakes District, stretching from Queenstown and Frankton across to Wanaka, Arrowtown, Glenorchy and Hāwea. It's small and spread out, not a single city with dozens of options on your doorstep. Seventeen schools cover the whole district, and which ones are realistically available to your family depends far more on which side of the Crown Range you live than any ranking could.
If you're new to the EQI, the full guide is here and it's worth reading alongside this one. If you're weighing up state vs private, that's covered in a separate piece. And if you'd rather browse and filter Queenstown-Lakes schools yourself, head to Explore.
Quick facts
There are 17 schools across the Queenstown-Lakes district (Ministry of Education / Education Counts)
10 operate an enrolment scheme (zone): your address determines your guaranteed place
15 have an EQI; the district range runs from 387 to 416, a narrow band at the "fewer barriers" end of the national scale
There are only two state secondary schools in the entire district: Wakatipu High School (Frankton) and Mt Aspiring College (Wanaka)
"Best" is a zone + fit question, not a league table. EQI is not a quality rating
Source: Ministry of Education / Education Counts
How many schools are in the Queenstown-Lakes district?
Seventeen, covering everywhere from Glenorchy at the head of the lake to Hāwea Flat on the other side of the Crown Range. That's a small number for a fast-growing area, and it means the usual advice for a big city (start with a shortlist of ten, narrow it down) doesn't really apply here. In most cases you're choosing between two or three realistic options, not twenty.
Wakatipu High School, in Frankton, is the only state secondary on the Queenstown side: co-educational, roll of 1,423, EQI 416, the highest in the district. There's no single-sex school and no state-integrated secondary anywhere in Queenstown-Lakes, so it's the default state option once your child reaches Year 9.
Mt Aspiring College, in Wanaka, is the equivalent on the other side of the Crown Range. It runs Years 7 to 13 rather than the more usual 9 to 13, so it also covers the intermediate years locally. Roll of 1,269, EQI 412.
With only two schools to choose from, "best secondary school in Queenstown" is really a geography question dressed up as a ranking question. If you live Queenstown-side, Wakatipu High is your practical option. If you live Wanaka-side, it's Mt Aspiring College. The real decision points are which side of the district you'll live on, and, if you're near the edge of catchment, when enrolment ballots run and how the timing lines up with your move.
How do zones work here?
Ten of the district's 17 schools operate an enrolment scheme. An enrolment scheme (what most people call a zone) is the geographic boundary within which a school guarantees a place. If your home address falls inside it, your child has a right to enrol. If it falls outside, you'll need to go through a ballot for any out-of-zone places on offer.
Several schools, including Wakatipu High School, Mt Aspiring College, Kingsview School, Glenorchy School and Makarora Primary School, don't currently operate a scheme, so enrolment isn't capped by address in the same way. That can change, and a lack of a scheme today doesn't guarantee space tomorrow in a district growing this fast. Confirm directly with the school before making a property or enrolment decision.
Use the zone checker to confirm your address against a school's current boundary.
Why a low EQI in Queenstown doesn't mean "better"
Every school in Queenstown-Lakes with an EQI sits between 387 and 416, a genuinely narrow band and a low one by national standards, where the scale runs from 344 (fewest barriers) up to 569 (most barriers). Nothing in the district approaches the high end.
Worth being straightforward about why: a low EQI here reflects an affluent resort community with, on average, fewer measured socio-economic barriers than most of the country. It is not a quality rating. It says nothing about teaching, leadership, or whether a particular school is right for your child. Two schools five or ten points apart on the scale, all clustered at the low end here, are not meaningfully different in any way the index actually measures.
Shotover Primary (EQI 396, roll 605) is one of several newer primary schools built to absorb growth on the Queenstown side, alongside Remarkables Primary and Te Kura Whakatipu o Kawarau. They exist because the district's population has grown faster than its older schools could accommodate, not because of anything the EQI number implies.
Remarkables Primary (EQI 397, roll 459) is another Frankton-area school built for the same reason. Roll pressure is a real, practical factor here in a way it may not be elsewhere, so if you're moving into new-build suburbs, ask each school directly about current roll numbers and any upcoming zone changes.
State, state-integrated, or private?
Queenstown-Lakes has a mix, though a small one. Most schools are state and free to attend. Two state-integrated primaries, Holy Family School in Wanaka (EQI 387, the lowest in the district) and St Joseph's School in Queenstown (EQI 393), are Catholic character schools that charge attendance dues. There's also Liger Leadership Academy, a small private school in Frankton, and a provisionally registered private school, Queenstown Grammar School, proposed for the area but without a roll or EQI yet.
A practical way to shortlist a school around Queenstown
Work out your side of the district. Queenstown, Frankton, Arrowtown and Glenorchy sit on one side; Wanaka, Hāwea and Makarora on the other. This alone narrows your realistic options to a handful of schools.
Check your zone at boundfor.co.nz/school-zones. Ten of the district's 17 schools operate an enrolment scheme, so confirm your address against any school you're considering.
Read the EQI as context, not a ranking. Every school here sits at the low end of the national range, and the EQI guide explains exactly what that does and doesn't tell you.
Read the ERO report for any school you're seriously considering. It's the closest thing to an independent view of how a school is actually performing. Build a report here.
Visit. A district growing this fast can see rolls, staffing and even buildings change quickly. Twenty minutes at an open day will anchor everything else you've read.
What are the best schools in Queenstown?
There isn't a single best school, and the honest answer depends on which
side of the Queenstown-Lakes district you live on and what your child
needs. At secondary level the practical choice usually comes down to
Wakatipu High School on the Queenstown side or Mt Aspiring College on the
Wanaka side, since those are the only two state secondaries in the
district. EQI is not a quality rating, so read ERO reports alongside it
rather than using EQI numbers to rank schools.
What secondary schools are there in Queenstown?
Wakatipu High School, in Frankton, is the only state secondary on the
Queenstown side of the district. Mt Aspiring College, which serves Years
7 to 13, is in Wanaka rather than Queenstown itself. There is no
single-sex school and no state-integrated secondary school anywhere in
the Queenstown-Lakes district.
How do I check if my address is in a school's zone in Queenstown or Wanaka?
Use the BoundFor zone checker or contact the school
directly. Ten of the district's 17 schools operate an enrolment scheme;
the rest, including both state secondaries, currently don't. Zones and
enrolment arrangements can change, so always verify before making a
property or enrolment decision.
How many schools are in the Queenstown area?
There are 17 schools across the Queenstown-Lakes district, spanning
Queenstown, Frankton, Arrowtown, Glenorchy, Wanaka, Hāwea and Makarora.
Fifteen have an EQI. Source: Ministry of Education / Education Counts.
Do Queenstown schools still have decile ratings?
No. Decile ratings were replaced by the Equity Index (EQI) on 1 January
2023. The EQI runs from 344 (fewest barriers) to 569 (most barriers)
nationally, and is based on the students actually enrolled, not the
neighbourhood. The Queenstown-Lakes district range runs from 387 to 416,
a narrow band at the low-barrier end of the national scale. The full EQI
guide explains what the number
means and how to use it.
Are there any private schools in Queenstown?
Liger Leadership Academy, a small co-educational private school in
Frankton, is currently the only fully registered private school in the
district. Queenstown Grammar School has been proposed and is
provisionally registered, but doesn't yet have a roll or EQI recorded.
What should I do next?
Check your zone. Head to boundfor.co.nz/school-zones and enter your address to see which schools you're guaranteed a place at.
Explore Queenstown-Lakes schools. Use Explore to filter by year level, type, and location.
Read the EQI guide. If you're using EQI numbers in your search, the full guide explains what they mean and, importantly, what they don't.
Build a school report. BoundFor's reports pull together ERO findings and key data so you can compare schools on what actually matters for your family. Start here.