The purchased land on the Coromandel Peninsula. Photo: Supplied / Saint Kentigern
A major Auckland private school plans to open a new campus in Coromandel, after acquiring a 1000-acre coastal farm land on the peninsula.
It will be Saint Kentigern's third site, in addition to its' campus in Remuera and Pakuranga.
The school's trust board said the milestone of buying the land at Wilson Bay Farm was made possible through the generosity of the Saint Kentigern Alumni Association and a number of its members.
"A purposeful extension of our Shore Road and Pakuranga campuses, Wilson Bay Farm will broaden the Saint Kentigern experience - offering a place where learning is grounded in experience and character is shaped through service and connection," it said in a statement posted to social media.
A webpage introducing Wilson Bay Farm on Saint Kentigern's website said students will gain hands-on experiences from the farm, including managing waterways, growing food and designing and testing ideas in real-world conditions.
The site is about a 90-minute boat ride from Half Moon Bay in East Auckland, close to the school's Pakuranga campus.
The trust board said it had set up a governance structure to oversee the development of the new campus over the next two years
Board chairperson Mark Conelly said in a video that the goal was for all students from year four to year 13 to experience learning at the farm every year, from 2027 onwards.
Conelly told Checkpoint that the school still needed to sort out things like accommodation.
"Our initial plan is to have accommodation and lodges for approximately 100 students at a time, but it's a 100-acre property and we have the opportunity for multiple groups - one group in the lodges and one group potentially under canvas on other parts of the farm."
The rateable value for the property was more than $3 million, but Conelly said he could not confirm how much the school actually paid for the property.
"It's something that has been supported by our alumni, so we've had a lot of support from our community, so hopefully we won't be spending a lot of our own money on it.
"But this is priceless, in terms of the experience both on the land and also the proximity to water, and that amazing Firth of Thames area that we'll be able to use for marine studies, water sports, you name it."
He said a key part of the vision for the property was to provide access for other schools.
"We're really keen to open up this site for access for schools that wouldn't otherwise be able to afford to go."
Bayley's real estate agent Stephanie Burgess confirmed that the sale was settled last week.
She said she was delighted and believed that the development of the campus will bring construction and employment opportunities to Coromandel.
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