Welcome to  Thornton School

Thornton School is a small country school situated in the small coastal village of Thornton, 15kms northwest of Whakatane. The Thornton area has a wonderful history where 100 years ago the surrounding land was swampland which was drained to become the productive farm land that it now is.

We are fortunate to be near the Thornton beach and alongside the wonderful Rangitaiki River.

Our local school community is drawn from from the Plains and wider Whakatane area. Our parents are very supportive of our school and we have an active Parent Group.

From term 2 in 2025 we will have 6 well-resourced classrooms catering for students from Years 0 – 8 and friendly, vibrant teachers and teacher aides who provide a high quality learning programme.

Our school has a family feel to it and our children are very supportive of each other. The school has wonderful grounds with excellent facilities, including a modern and well maintained library, playgrounds and large playing fields including the a bike track and native shrubbery perfect for building huts. The classrooms are well resourced with computers, laptops and smart televisions.

Tomomi sensei supports our students with weekly Japanese lessons and Rachel Hand holds regular music classes for our entire school

We are especially proud of our swimming pool and programme. The pool is heated which allows for extended use and we teach our students basic swimming and water skills, especially important in the area we live.

Each year we hold among other activities, our Calf Club day, Art Week and a school production. Our students participate in a variety of sporting codes through interschool events with the other schools on the Rangitaiki Plains and some students represent the school in Saturday netball and soccer teams. We can also support your year 7 and 8 child to attend the annual AIMS games held in September.

If you would like your child to join us at Thornton School, please call us on 07 304 9308

Shelley Bremner

Principal - Thornton School

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