Twizel Area School

Twizel Area School is surrounded by three lakes. Pūkaki, Takapō and Ōhau all of these lakes were carved out of papatūānuku by Rakaihautu, the rangatira who captained the waka Uruao to Aotearoa.

Twizel Area School sits beneath Aoraki nui and represents our connection to mana whenua, Te Rapuwai and Kai Tahu. Te Rapuwai who were the earliest inhabitants of Te Manahuna are said to have fired the first forests of Canterbury, and to have hunted the moa and left behind the many shell heaps scattered over the landscape.

Te Manahuna (the Mackenzie Country) was a “mahika kai” area for Māori who used the Waitaki river trail to Access the hinterland. 

Twizel Area School is a state co-educational area school for ākonga from Years 1 - 13. Formed in 1986, the Area School combined the then high school and primary school on the high school site.