Sacred Heart Girls' College is a single-sex (girls) secondary and intermediate school in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
Sacred Heart started as a school and boarding facility called Sacred Heart College, founded by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions in 1884. The school was next to the present St Joseph's Church and catered for primary & secondary students. In 1960 the school moved to its present site and was renamed Sacred Heart Girls’ College. The boarding hostel for up to 78 boarders, now called "Elizabeth House", was added in 1970. The original school hall was demolished and rebuilt into new rooms for Māori, drama, music and general classrooms, opened in January 2012.
The college, which is under the control of the Mission College New Plymouth Trust Board, became an integrated secondary school, with an attached intermediate school in 1982. Buildings erected since then include the library, staff room and administrative facilities known as the Centennial Wing, a Mathematics block, Religious Studies block and Graphics workshops and a new 5-classroom block (including textiles technology). The college is situated in grounds which include tennis courts, netball courts and sports field.
The current principal is Barbara Costelloe.
Contents
Enrolment
As a state-integrated school, the proprietors of Sacred Heart Girls' College charge compulsory attendance dues to cover capital costs. For the 2025 school year, the attendance dues payable are $544 per year for students in years 7 and 8, and $1,088 per year for students in year 9 and above.
As of July 2026, Sacred Heart Girls' College has a roll of 737 students, of which 114 (15.5%) identify as Māori.
As of 2026, the school has an Equity Index of 414, placing it amongst schools whose students have few socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 8 and 9 under the former socio-economic decile system).
Houses
Barbier (Blue)
Vianney (Red)
Lourdes (Green)
Chanel (Yellow)
Notable alumni
Cassandra Crowley - lawyer, accountant, administrator
Carinnya Feaunati, architect
Hope Ralph - New Zealand field hockey player
Deborah Russell - Member of the New Zealand Parliament and cabinet minister
Dianne Tracey - marine biologist