2024 ENROLMENT

Welcome and thank you for your interest in Aquinas College.

Founded in 2003, our Year 7 to Year 13 college is set on 10.7 hectares in Pyes Pa, Tauranga — close to The Lakes and the city’s key thoroughfares. Aquinas aims to educate the next generation of Catholic servant leaders who positively influence the lives of others. We are intentional about being an authentically Catholic College with a heart for Christ and a vision of holistic education to grow the gifts and talents of the whole person so they may realise their true potential.

With a roll of 750 students and expansion to 950 on the horizon, Aquinas attracts students from the Western BOP and beyond. It is also a destination for international students from more than 15 countries. As such, acceptance into the school is highly sought-after. Historically, we receive more applications than positions available.

Enrolment applications open for a month each winter. The 2024 enrolment period has now closed. Enrolment requests received after this will be considered on a rolling basis if space is available.

Please contact Executive Assistant Sheryl Flexman at sflexman@aquinas.school.nz or by phone (07) 543 9032 if you have any questions. We are here to help you.

2024 Enrolment Timeline:

Frequently Asked Questions:

Aquinas College 2022 Prospectus

What is a Preference Enrolment?

Enrolment preference is given to students or families with an established Catholic connection. To establish this, a Preference of Enrolment Certificate must be obtained from your Parish Office. Your child must meet one of the following criteria:

The child has been baptised or is being prepared for baptism in the Catholic Church.
The child’s parents/guardians have already allowed one or more of their children to be baptised in the Catholic faith.
At least one parent/guardian is a Catholic, and although their child has not yet been baptised, the child’s participation in the life of the school could lead to the parents having the child baptised.
With the agreement of the child’s parent/guardian, a significant familial adult such as a grandparent, aunt or uncle, who is living in close proximity and who is actively involved in the child’s upbringing undertakes to support the child’s formation in the faith and practices of the Catholic Church.
One or both of a child’s non-Catholic parents/guardians are preparing to become a Catholic.

What is a Non-Preference Enrolment?

Non-Preference (or non-Catholic) families are welcome to enrol their child at Aquinas College. However, the Non-Preference roll is very competitive and the number accepted depends on the amount of Preference applications received.

What are Attendance Dues?

Are a compulsory fee that is a condition of enrolment at integrated schools. It is one of the main sources of income for the maintenance or upgrading of existing buildings.

The 2023 Aquinas College Attendance Dues for Year 7 or 8 students is $444 per student and $888 per Year 9 to 13 student. Dues are not tax deductible.

The fee is invoiced from and payable to the Catholic Integrated Schools Office. It is administered and collected by the Hamilton Diocese Office.

What is the Aquinas College Voluntary Contribution?

The Aquinas Board of Trustees has set the 2023 Voluntary Contribution at $1,200 per annum per student, with a maximum of $3,000 per annum for three or more students from the same family.

The donation provides crucial funding for many of the vital services we offer students. As a high decile school (now renamed the Equity Index), our government funding per student is lower than schools with a higher index, leaving Aquinas with a funding shortfall. We need your support.

Your school donation helps pay for additional staffing above Ministry-approved levels and boosts our teacher aide funding. It bankrolls targeted programmes for literacy and numeracy support, student well-being services, and additional school counsellors. Unlike most schools, we have two counsellors — a staffing commitment that significantly exceeds our government funding.

Funding from your donation helps support students in need, ensuring they can attend school trips, take part in sports teams and receive a school uniform. It also assists Aquinas families experiencing hardship.

Financial or family circumstances should not be a deterrent in seeking enrolment.

For further queries regarding payment of Attendance Dues or the Aquinas Voluntary Contribution, contact the school’s Finance Administrator, Celeste Foreman at cforeman@aquinas.school.nz.