Kia eke atu ki Taupaenui o te tangata

People reaching their full potential

Welcome to our school

Te Paepae o Aotea is a state co-educational school for Year 7 – 15 students based in Hāwera, South Taranaki.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui and Te Korowai o Ngāruahine have gifted the name of our school informed by the aspirations of our community. It was intended that the name be clearly South Taranaki, be inclusive and relevant to the whole community, and reflect our history and ambitions for the future.

Meet our principal

Rachel Williams, Tumuaki

Tēna Koutou e te whanau

Te Paepae o Aotea opened in February 2023 with approximately 1000 students. We are a co-educational state school catering for students in Year 7-15. Te Paepae o Aotea was formed in response to the closure of Hāwera High School and Hāwera Intermediate at the end of the 2022 school year.

Our school name, Te Paepae o Aotea, was gifted to us by Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui and Te Korowai o Ngāruahine. Alongside our name, we were also gifted a whakatauākī and logo. There are two major components to our name, Paepae and Aotea and the condensed meaning is “We are on the learning journey of Aotea, as the people of South Taranaki, realising our full potential.”

Our whakatauāki, ‘Kia eke atu ki Taupaenui o te tangata,’ challenges us to instil in our students the tools to help them achieve their full potential, in the pursuits they and their whānau deem important. Our cultural narrative is the foundation that we use to unpack elements of Mātauranga Māori. Te Ao Māori is prioritised across the curriculum. A school wide culturally responsive pedagogy builds a family-like context, in which restorative practice promotes a healthy community and maintains authentic relationships.

Ngā mihi

Te Paepae O Aotea Curriculum

The New Zealand Curriculum is a document that outlines educational requirements in schools. The everyday teaching and learning that students experience is the result of teachers weaving together the national curriculum with local context and the diverse aspirations of learners and their whānau, in ways that are responsive to individual learner progress.

Follow us on Facebook

|

TePaepaeoAotea

Follow us on Facebook

TePaepaeoAotea

Te Paepae o Aotea

9 hours ago

Our Year 8A Netball Team has the chance to win $1,000 in sports equipment, but we need your help. The more likes we receive, the greater our chance of being included in the draw.Want to win $1000 of sports gear for your school?

Thanks to our friends at Mercury, we have your chance to WIN!
The photo with the most likes across the two Mercury Team Photo 2026 albums by 3pm, Friday 18th September 2026 wins.

Get your whole school behind you and encourage them to share your photo far and wide. Good luck!

The competition will be judged based on the number of genuine likes the submitted photo receives on Facebook.

Only likes from real accounts with genuine user activity will be considered valid. Any use of bots, fake accounts, or any automated methods to increase likes will result in immediate disqualification.

Can’t find your Team Photo? You favourite team may not have made it to the Mercury Team Photo studio yet! Visit the Mercury Free Team Photos page on the Zespri AIMS Game App or Website for opening hours and location detail. Photos are uploaded and available after 7pm each day ...