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.
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
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.
To date, our Te Paepae o Aotea Dream Team has raised over $16,000 for Relay For Life. Here are some more photo highlights from the day, showcasing some of our amazing team and the incredible effort they put in. It’s not too late to support the cause—donations are still open via the link below.
taranaki.relayforlife.org.nz/t/te-paepae-o-aotea
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Tonight, 2 April, marked the conclusion of the six-week Southern Rippa Rugby Tournament. Te Paepae o Aotea was proudly represented with multiple teams competing across all age groups. In the Year 7–8 division, TPOA Black were runners-up after a close 11–6 loss to Pātea in the final, while our TPOA Pink team secured third place against St Joseph’s. In the Secondary School competition, Supreme Girls claimed a hard-fought 7–6 victory over Keep It Real. A massive shout‑out to all teams for their positive sportsmanship and the pride they showed in representing our kura. Thank you to our whānau for your continued support and assistance each week and special thanks to Michelle Shaw for capturing the photos throughout the tournament. ... See MoreSee Less
A perfect way to wrap up Term 1—our Te Paepae o Aotea students made the most of the sunshine with games and laughter at interval today. ... See MoreSee Less
Our Cultural Leaders brought the energy today, running an exciting LRA Dance Competition filled with fun, laughter, and heaps of enjoyment for everyone involved! ... See MoreSee Less
Our two Te Paepae o Aotea Hockey teams soaked up the sunshine at preseason training last night. We’re looking forward to the 2026 Taranaki Secondary Schools season kicking off in Term 2, with the TPOA 1st XI competing in the Boys Championship grade and our Second XI in the Mixed Championship grade. ... See MoreSee Less
Te Paepae o Aotea congratulates the Hockey 1st XI Mixed Team on winning the Taranaki Secondary School Boys Championship Final in Stratford against Stratford Boys 1st XI. Final scor
The Te Paepae o Aotea team of Ronan Hurley, Tyler Midgley, Luke Barnett and Ryan Hockly took out the 2023 Taranaki Secondary School Safety Team Challenge against six other high s
Students from Te Paepae o Aotea particpated in the Smokefree Rockquest Taranaki Finals held on 30 June at the TSB Showplace, New Plymouth. We had three entries. All bands to write
