 "Nukutere" means "people on a journey", a reference to the pilgrim Church in the South Pacific context.Students come mainly from Rarotonga, but provision is made for those from outer islands (as well as some from French Polynesia) to stay with 'guardians'.As at 2010, Nukutere College and all other private and church schools in the Cook Islands receive 100% of the equivalent allocation of funds to which they are entitled as a government school from the national budget.