Last updated October 2026
Waimea Intermediate is a state, co-educational intermediate school for Years 7 and 8 at Salisbury Road, Richmond. It opened in 1959 and had 560 students on its roll at 1 September 2026.
Its home zone includes all of Redwood Valley, Appleby, Hope, Brightwater and Richmond, and parts of Aniseed Valley, Lee Valley and Stoke; the zone map below shows the full boundary.
The school’s site describes an integrated curriculum built around its R.I.S.E. values of respect, integrity, self-management and empathy, a music programme, and after-school sport such as touch, volleyball and 3v3 basketball. It also takes international students, who are given English language support, student buddies and the chance to join a camp each year.
At a glance
- Principal
- Justine McDonald
- Address
- Salisbury Road, Richmond
- Phone
- 03 544 8994
Home zone
Suburbs in the zone: all of Hope near Nelson, Appleby near Nelson, Richmond near Nelson, Brightwater near Nelson and Redwood Valley near Nelson.
Parts of Aniseed Valley, Lee Valley near Nelson and Stoke: check your street.
Zone boundaries are set by the school’s enrolment scheme and can change. Confirm your address with the school before you rely on it.
Who goes here
Share of the 560 students who identify with each group. Students can name more than one, so these add up to more than 100%.
1 international student
MELAA: Middle Eastern, Latin American and African.
Stand-downs and suspensions
Cases per 1,000 students in 2025, adjusted for the ages of the school’s students, compared with all New Zealand schools.
Suspensions: fewer than 5 cases in 2025, so no rate is shown.
These measure how a school responds to behaviour, and schools set their own thresholds, so they are not a measure of how students behave.
What ERO found
The Education Review Office’s latest report on the school is a School Evaluation Report from November 2024. Since its previous report, ERO and the school had focused on reading, and the school’s own data showed almost all learners making sufficient or faster progress, helped by a dedicated literacy leadership team and clearer shared guidelines for teaching.
ERO found that by the end of Year 8 most learners reach or exceed expected curriculum levels in reading, writing and mathematics, students have a strong sense of belonging, and learners with additional needs follow personalised programmes in a dedicated learning hub. Attendance had improved, but the school was not yet meeting the Ministry of Education target for regular attendance.
The agreed next steps are to keep refining the peer coaching approach so reading gains are sustained, to review mathematics teaching and achievement data to plan new approaches, to build on links with whānau Māori and mana whenua so the local curriculum better supports Māori learners, and to strengthen assessment practice, with the aim of lifting attendance to the Ministry target.
Read the ERO reports for Waimea Intermediate
Enrolling
Students who live in the home zone have the right to enrol, and families are asked to sign a declaration that they live in the zone and may need to show proof of address. Out-of-zone places are offered under the school’s enrolment scheme, by ballot when there are more applicants than places.
Under the scheme, siblings of current students come first, followed by siblings of former students, children of former students, and children of board members or staff. The board publishes the number of out-of-zone places, how to apply and the closing date by newspaper notice each year, and the school’s enrolment zone page sets out the zone boundary and the process.
Schools nearby
Where students go next
Based on home zones around the school’s own address. Families can apply to any school, and your own address decides which zones you are in.
In Richmond near Nelson
Waimea Intermediate is in Richmond near Nelson. Our suburb guide covers what it is like to live there, with parks, places and local businesses.
Read our Richmond near Nelson guide →Questions parents ask
Is Waimea Intermediate zoned?
It has a home zone covering all of Hope near Nelson, Appleby near Nelson, Richmond near Nelson, Brightwater near Nelson and Redwood Valley near Nelson and parts of Aniseed Valley, Lee Valley near Nelson and Stoke.
What years does it teach?
Years 7 to 8.
How many students go there?
560 at 1 Sep 2026.
Does it ask for donations?
No. It is in the donation scheme, so it only asks for donations for school camps.
What is its Equity Index?
451. The Ministry of Education’s Equity Index estimates the socio-economic barriers a school’s students face, from 344 (fewest) to 569 (most). It is used to share out funding, not as a measure of quality.
School details and roll: Ministry of Education school directory, 22 Oct 2026 (CC BY 4.0). Home zone: Ministry of Education enrolment zones (CC BY 4.0). NCEA results, roll history and stand-downs: Education Counts, school leavers 2023 to 2025, stand-downs 2025, rolls 2021 to 2025 (CC BY 4.0). Updated automatically when the Ministry publishes new data.
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