Taranaki Catholic school to close in December

By CathNews New Zealand

October 16th, 2026

(Google Maps)

St Joseph’s School in Patea in south Taranaki will close at the end of the year after the Minister of Education and the school’s proprietor agreed to cancel the integration agreement.

An invitation has been issued to join Palmerston North Bishop John Adams at a Thanksgiving Mass on December 12, followed by a light lunch at the school.

The proprietor, the Bishop of Palmerston North, asked the Ministry of Education to consider the mutual cancellation of the school’s integration agreement. A consultation ran from March 2 to April 2 this year.

Reasons for the request included a declining roll and low numbers of students with a Catholic connection; an inability to recruit a suitable Catholic principal and safeguard the Catholic special character; a low demand for a Catholic learning pathway; long-term concerns about the quality of teaching and learning and its impact on student achievement; low student attendance and students tending not to remain enrolled through Years 1 to 6.

An Education Review Office report in November 2025 noted that there were 11 students at the school and all were Māori and all in years 1 to 3. Updated information indicated that the roll was five this year. The 2025 report significant issues around school attendance.

“Students who start at the school make sufficient progress in their first year. Ensuring that students in years 2 to 6 make progress and achieve towards expected levels is a priority,” the report stated, adding that “the school is developing good quality planning to increase the rate of progress for all groups of students.”

The school will remain open until December 31, 2026. The ministry, proprietor and school’s commissioner will work with staff, students and whānau to support them through the closure process. With whānau, there will be a focus on ensuring a well-supported transition to new schools.

“We acknowledge that this is a difficult matter for the school community and thank everyone who took the time to engage with the consultation process,” stated a notice from the Diocese on the school’s website.

“We also recognise the strength of faith, care and shared values that underpin our Catholic community, and the way these have shaped the respectful and thoughtful contributions made.”

St Joseph’s School in Patea opened in 1904.

FULL STORY

Newsletter 11.10.2026 (Catholic Parish of New Plymouth)

St Joseph’s School, Patea

Consultation on the proposed cancellation of the Integration Agreement for St Joseph’s School, Pātea (Ministry of Education)

St Joseph’s School (Patea) (Education Review Office)