Kindness is a real focus in all that we do at Papanui Primary and is a vital part of our school culture.

We are state-funded school catering for new entrants to year 6 children and our roll sits at around 215 learners. Our kids come from a range of cultural backgrounds including NZ European (55%), Māori (22%), Samoan (4%), Nepalese (3%) with the remaining percentages being made up by tamariki whose families are from South Africa, England, China, Philippines, India, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia, Fiji, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The school is located in northern Christchurch and has an enrolment scheme and school zone.

The school is set in spacious and well-planted grounds that include a large grass playing field, sports courts, bike track and two fun playgrounds. The school buildings consist of three classroom blocks as well as a hall, library and admin area. The school is well maintained and classrooms are warm and inviting with each one being completely modernised and remodelled through the Ministry of Education’s Renewal Programme.

The school has a proud history and was first established in 1871, as the Papanui District School. We celebrated our 150th jubilee in 2021.

Papanui receives strong and positive parental support from its community, and this is reflected in the commitment shown by our “Friends of Papanui”(PTA) and our Board of Trustees (BOT). We are a part of the Tōtaranui Kāhui Ako – Community of Learning