Secondary School and Boarding at St. Peter's Cambridge

A leading New Zealand boarding school

St. Peter's School, Cambridge is a private, Anglican, co-educational day and boarding school in New Zealand's Waikato region, educating around 1,200 students from Year 7 to Year 13, including more than 300 boarders. Founded in 1936 under the motto Structa Saxo, "Built on a Rock", it occupies a rural campus of roughly 40 hectares beside the Waikato River, a short drive from the town of Cambridge. Its strength for international families is breadth within one connected community: a student can work towards NCEA or the International Baccalaureate Diploma while training at an on-campus equestrian centre or golf centre, rowing at Lake Karapiro, performing in music and dance ensembles, and living in a structured boarding house with full pastoral support. International students make up about 4% of the roll, so the everyday environment remains predominantly English-speaking.

Academic program and qualifications

Students follow the school's Seven-Year Student Journey, a continuous pathway from Year 7 to Year 13 in which each year builds on the one before. In the senior years families choose between two qualifications. Under NCEA, students take six subjects at Level 2 in Year 12 and five subjects at Level 3 in Year 13, with academic planning and tracking systems to ensure course selections meet NCEA requirements and careers guidance on entry requirements for tertiary study. St. Peter's is also an IB World School and the only school in New Zealand's central North Island to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, a two-year pre-university qualification in Years 12 and 13 built on six subjects across Literature, Language Acquisition, Individuals and Societies, Sciences, Mathematics and the Arts. Year 13 students are based in The College, a dedicated senior space with silent study areas, social spaces, advisory services and a barista coffee service at Cafe 1936. Class sizes are small, and subject availability varies by year level and should be confirmed before application.

English support for international students

English language support is built into the international tuition fee rather than charged as an extra. Once a student has been accepted, they complete an assessment so the school can gauge their level and set the right support. This can include English as an Additional Language classes, up to two terms of free one-to-one tutoring for students at a beginner level, and free weekly small-group sessions for students at an intermediate level. Additional one-to-one sessions may be requested beyond the free allocation, with costs discussed with parents at the start of the year. Each student's English achievement is monitored through annual testing by the school's English Language Specialists to confirm they are progressing as expected.

Boarding and pastoral care

More than 300 students board across six houses on campus: Broadhurst, Oliphant and Riddet for boys, and Beaufort, Wrigley and Lippincott for girls. Each house has a communal area for socialising, while every student has their own room within a larger dormitory. Separately, each student is sorted on enrolment into one of four school houses, Chandler, Hanna, Swears and Thornton, whose histories date back to the school's founding in 1936. Pastoral care is supported by on-site Health and Wellbeing Centres staffed by qualified nurses and counsellors, along with school chaplains. During leave weekends and holidays, international boarders are placed with a New Zealand homestay family, giving them a chance to experience local life in Cambridge and the wider Waikato. Enrolment in boarding is for the full year unless otherwise agreed. Every Year 9 student also experiences two weeks of boarding life, and Year 10 students attend a camp at Tongariro led by outdoor experts.

Sport, equestrian, golf and the arts

St. Peter's offers around 35 sports, from team codes such as cricket, football, hockey, netball and rugby to individual pursuits including athletics, swimming, tennis, badminton, table tennis, triathlon, volleyball and water polo. Several facilities are unusual for a school. The on-campus Equestrian Centre is a professionally run co-curricular training programme with sand and grass arenas, jumping and dressage equipment, cross-country training, farm riding, yards, tackrooms, feedrooms, stables and 36 paddocks, and horses can be stabled on or off site. The St. Peter's Golf Centre has a driving range, putting green, six-hole course, advanced golf technology and PGA coaching staff, making St. Peter's the only school in New Zealand with its own onsite driving range, putting green and six-hole course. Rowing is based at Lake Karapiro, New Zealand's home of rowing, and track cycling takes place at the nearby Grassroots Trust Velodrome. In 2024 the school recorded 19 national and international athletes across disciplines including golf, cycling and athletics.

Beyond sport there are about 40 arts, cultural and enrichment groups. Music spans jazz band, wind band, chamber and string ensembles, commercial music and vocal groups; dance includes the Eclipse, Mosaic and Vortex Hip Hop troupes; and drama extends to a Musical Theatre Academy alongside speech and drama lessons. Kapa Haka and Pasifika programmes celebrate Maaori and Pacific Island cultures and are open to all students. Clubs and societies include debating and interschool debating, Model United Nations, chess, EPro8, esports, digital technology, environment and produce clubs, media and the Hoot Magazine. The Duke of Edinburgh International Award is available from age 14, and Owl Farm, a working dairy farm run as a joint venture with Lincoln University, gives students hands-on exposure to agribusiness and rural life.

Campus and location

The campus covers roughly 40 hectares of rural land alongside the Waikato River, with sports fields, the equestrian and golf centres, a boathouse on the shores of Lake Karapiro and the Owl Farm dairy platform. Cambridge itself is known as the town of trees, a safe and welcoming community with walking trails, the Te Awa River Ride and a strong equestrian and cycling culture; because it is primarily made up of native English speakers, it is a strong environment for language immersion. Hamilton is about a 20-minute drive away and Auckland International Airport roughly 90 minutes by road, while Tauranga, Rotorua and Taupo are each within about a two-hour drive. School buses serve day students from Cambridge, Hamilton, Leamington, Maungatautari, Matamata, Matangi, Morrinsville, Putaruru and Te Awamutu, with annual fares advised at the start of each year.

International entry and admissions

Admissions follow a four-step process: apply online, complete a family interview online or in person, receive an offer of place, and confirm enrolment. Most students begin at the start of the academic year in late January or February, but the school will consider admissions during the year subject to availability and suitability, and families looking more than two years ahead can register an Expression of Interest. International fees apply to students who do not hold New Zealand or Australian permanent residence and whose parents do not hold a current New Zealand work permit. Students will need a New Zealand fee-paying student visa, and those under 18 require approved accommodation and welfare arrangements, which boarding or an approved homestay satisfies. Asia Pathway supports families with document preparation, English assessment, placement, enrolment and student-visa planning.

International fees

The figures below are the school's published Schedule of Fees for International Students 2026, effective from Term 1, 2026. All amounts are in New Zealand dollars and include GST, and the St. Peter's School Trust Board reviews fees annually. International tuition for Years 7 to 13 is NZ$58,920 a year, which includes provision for English as an Additional Language tuition, and school lunches are included at no additional cost. Boarding is NZ$20,525 a year, with homestay for boarding students during leave weekends and holidays estimated at NZ$5,000 a year.

One-off and annual charges include an application fee of NZ$310, an acceptance fee of NZ$1,190, an administration fee of NZ$525, an alumni membership imprest deposit of NZ$250 and a Campus Development Fee of NZ$1,500 a year. Estimated additional costs are medical insurance of about NZ$650 a year, uniform of NZ$1,700 to NZ$1,900 for new students and examination fees of NZ$500 to NZ$900. Families should also budget roughly NZ$3,000 to NZ$4,000 a year for discretionary expenses such as academic field trips, academy fees, airport transfers, school camps, music tuition, local travel, medical visits and visa applications.

Full payment in advance must be received by 31 October each year. Payment can be made by Visa or Mastercard with a 2.7% surcharge, by direct credit to the school's bank account, or by direct debit from a New Zealand bank account. A discount of 10% off tuition and boarding fees is available for the third and subsequent children of a family attending concurrently, where no other discount has been applied. One full term's written notice to the Admissions Office is required to withdraw, otherwise the next term's fee is payable, and enrolment in boarding is for the full year unless otherwise agreed. Request a current written quotation from Asia Pathway before you commit.

University pathways

Both senior qualifications lead to university. NCEA Level 3 with University Entrance is the standard route into New Zealand's universities, while the International Baccalaureate Diploma is a globally recognised pre-university qualification accepted by institutions in New Zealand and overseas, which makes it a strong option for families who may not settle in one country. Careers guidance helps students understand the entry requirements for their chosen tertiary pathway, and Year 13 students receive amplified advisory support through The College. Graduates join an alumni network of around 10,000 worldwide, supported by a First Five Programme that connects recent school leavers with alumni during their first years after school. Entry to any university depends on individual results and the requirements in force at the time of application.

Connect with Asia Pathway to check boarding availability, confirm current international fees and prepare your St. Peter's Cambridge application.