Whanganui Girls' College

Whanganui Girls' College is located in Jones Street Whanganui near the Dublin Street Bridge.^[3] The school is one of the oldest single sex educational facilities in New Zealand, founded in 1891.^[4][5]

Whanganui Girls' College
Location
Jones Street, Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand
Coordinates	39.91875°S 175.05614339°E / -39.91875; 175.05614339
Information
Funding type	State
Motto	Ad Astra Poutamatia
Established	1891
Ministry of Education Institution no.	188
Principal	Nita Pond
Years offered	9–13
Gender	Single-sex Secondary School for Girls
School roll	341[1] (July 2025)
Socio-economic decile	3I[2]
Website	www.wanganui-girls.school.nz

Enrolment

As of July 2025, Whanganui Girls' College has a roll of 341 students, of which 110 (32.3%) identify as Māori.^[1]

As of 2025, the school has an Equity Index of 493,^[6] placing it amongst schools whose students have above average socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to decile 4 under the former socio-economic decile system).^[7]

Principals

• Mary Isabel Fraser

Notable alumnae

Main category: People educated at Whanganui Girls' College

• Jackie Abraham-Lawrie – rower
• Monica Brewster – arts patron and women's rights advocate
• Edith Collier – artist
• Dorothy Davies – pianist
• Ellen France – lawyer and judge
• Patricia France – artist
• Nola Luxford – radio pioneer
• Jennie McCormick – astronomer
• Christine McElwee – politician, historian, author and teacher
• Mina McKenzie – museum director
• Anne Noble – photographer
• Victoria Ransom – entrepreneur
• Ruth Ross – historian
• Gillian Weir – organist