Our Designated Character

---

Te Pā was established by the Minister of Education on 27 February 2014 under Section 156 of the Education Act 1989 as a designated character school.

Te Pā o Rākaihautū is a unique 21st century pā wānanga (learning village) committed to educational success for the whole whanau, from early childhood, primary and secondary schooling to tertiary education, on the one site.

Te Pā opened in January 2015 and set out to redefine how, where and when the best learning happens for our whanau. Te Pā does this by restoring culture, connection and identity as a foundation to educational success; reconnecting our whanau with place, our communities; our whakapapa and our stories; reigniting a passion for learning; and pushing the reset button on Māori educational achievement.

We are a composite school that offers classes from years 1 – 13 in 2017. In line with our vision of providing seamless life-long learning we have our own ECE service on-site licensed for over twos and we offer some adult classes in the evenings and weekends. We also have a range of whānau and community driven health and education initiatives on site that ensure high whānau engagement and support.

Collectively these mean that Te Pā is a very busy village.