Aoraki Mount Cook School is a rural U1 primary school in the heart of Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Having first opened on the 23rd May 1960, the school caters for New Entrants through to Year 8 pupils with a fluctuating roll from 6 to 18 pupils. Our students are from families who work in or near the National Park. At the start of the 2024 school year there will be 6 students from 4 different cultures. 

Cultural identity, environmental education, literacy, numeracy, creativity, and digital literacy are priority areas in the school, ensuring that all students are given the opportunity to achieve to the best of their ability in these areas.  We celebrate and welcome our cultural diversity and practice cultural inclusiveness.  Our English language learners are supported and, as staff and children, we seek to learn and celebrate each child’s culture. 

We pride ourselves on providing students with the support and learning they require to achieve, and consider our small numbers central to student success. Our school is well supported by the Board and a strong parent community. The school enjoys a favourable reputation both in the local community and in the wider education sector.

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We teach to the Aotearoa New Zealand Curriculum and are a state funded full primary school with children ranging in age from 5 to 13 years of age.  We are also a member of Te Kāhui Ako ō te Manahuna.

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We acknowledge Māori as the tangata whenua of Aotearoa New Zealand, Ngāi Tahu as iwi, and Te Rūnaka o Arowhenua, Te Rūnaka o Waihao and Te Rūnaka o Moeraki as kaitiaki - guardians to Aoraki/Mount Cook and the surrounding areas. We also acknowledge the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand by recognising the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, fostering respect for Māori culture and developing an awareness an awareness of the history of the mana whenua in the Te Manahuna area.