The first Ongaonga District School was opened in 1875, on a site opposite the old hotel, it is still there as the old school museum. The opening roll was 20 pupils. In 1886 a larger 4 classroom school was built on the present site with a roll of 61.

On 21 October 1966 the Chairman of the Hawke’s Bay Education Board opened the present school. The roll at the time was about 100.

Today we are a 3 classroom school with a roll of 50 students. We have fantastic learning environments delivering inclusive, supportive, values based education to meet the needs of our learners.