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

|

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

... See MoreSee Less

Year 7-8 Taupaenui Badges.
Click on the link to select badge worksheet options:
acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:AP:2ed146c6-e089-4ff8-a55b-3406ab7e0b3e
... See MoreSee Less

Year 7-8 Taupaenui B

Today, Te Paepae o Aotea held a whole-school assembly to announce the 2026 Awa Senior and Junior Leaders and to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students who earned NCEA Level 1, 2, and 3 with Excellence and Merit Endorsements. We also acknowledged our 2025 Year 10 Advanced Maths students who successfully passed NCEA Level 1 Maths. Well done to all our students! ... See MoreSee Less

Today, Te Paepae o AImage attachmentImage attachment+Image attachment

Today at our whole-school assembly, Te Paepae o Aotea announced the 2026 Junior and Senior student Awa leadership roles. Congratulations to all the students who will be leading the way this year, upholding and promoting our school values of Taupaenui, Aotea, and Paepae through their Academic, Community, Cultural, and Sports leadership roles. ... See MoreSee Less

Today at our whole-s

Te Paepae o Aotea Newsletter - Friday, 30 January 2026
acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:AP:77b63326-753f-405a-af94-e8e3c38fed33
... See MoreSee Less

Te Paepae o Aotea Ne

... See MoreSee Less

Photos from Te Paepae o Aotea's post ... See MoreSee Less

Image attachmentImage attachment+Image attachment

... See MoreSee Less

Load more

See what's happening

We have completed our lockdown EXERCISE and all all students, staff and persons on site are safely accounted for.
27 March 2025

Te Paepae o Aotea is conducting a lockdown EXERCISE - Thursday, 27 March 2025 at 11.50am.