St Kevin's College (also called Redcastle) in Oamaru, New Zealand, is a Catholic, coeducational, integrated, boarding and day, secondary school. It was founded by the Christian Brothers in 1927 for boys and became a co-educational school in 1983 on the closing of St Thomas's Girls' Secondary School operated by the Dominican Sisters. The college became a state integrated coeducational school in the same year."History of St Kevin's College" (Retrieved 30 August 2014)Graeme Donaldson, pp. 8 and 10. The Christian Brothers ceased to be on the teaching staff of the college in the late 1990s but remained the school's proprietor, and so appointed representatives to the college board until 2019 when they transferred the ownership of St Kevin's College to the Catholic Bishop of Dunedin."St Kevin’s College ownership changes hands", CathNews, 17 February 2} (Retrieved 2 July 2026)Daniel Birchfield, "St Kevin's to change hands", Otago Day Times, 13 June 2019 (Retrieved 21 June 2019)Jeff Dillon, "Southern college changes ownership after 90 years", NZ Catholic 14 July 2019, p. 3.
The Catholic primary school for Oamaru, St Joseph's primary School is to be rebuilt on the St Kevin's College campus while retaining its separate identity with the two schools governed by a common board."Oamaru primary school to move to St Kevin’s College site", CathNews new Zealand, 4 March 2025 (Retrieved 4 March 2025)
History Proposal The establishment of a Catholic boarding school for boys in Otago was first proposed in 1890. However, it was not until 1925 that the preparations for the establishment began. The Bishop of Dunedin, James Whyte, asked the Christian Brothers to set up the school. They had, from 1876, conducted the Christian Brothers School in Dunedin.Redcastle Recollections, A Golden Jubilee Volume, p. 2. This school had for a time taken boarders in a hostel which operated from 1919 until 1924.O'Neill, p. 78. Various sites were inspected by the Bishop and the Provincial of the Christian Brothers, P. I. Hickey, and the property called "Redcastle" in Oamaru was chosen as the most suitable site.
Campus The site of the college was originally developed by the McLean and Buckley families. John McLean was born on the island of Mull, Scotland, in 1818. He (with his brothers) made his fortune in developing and exploiting High Country sheep stations (particularly "Morven Hills" in the Lindis Pass) and by selling them at the right time.Robert Pinney, Early Northern Otago Runs, Collins, Auckland, 1981, pp. 141–143.
McLean purchased the Oamaru land in 1857 as part of much larger block for about 10/- an acre. Much of it was sold off, but he retained the area which is now the school, and he resided there from the 1860s. By 1871 he was running 10,000 sheep on the property. He was the Oamaru member for the Otago Provincial Council and he was also a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council (1867–1872). He died in 1902 and the land passed to his nephew, St. John McLean Buckley."Buckley, St. John Mclean", The Cyclopedia of New Zealand, Otago & Southland Provincial Districts' retrieved 2 September 2014.
The original homestead was one-storied with a thatched roof. When the old house burned down, Buckley built the red brick residence with Oamaru stone facing, now known as the "Castle" and, since he was very fond of horse-racing, he built large stables (now a school building named "The Stables"), St John Buckley died in 1915 and his son, also named John Buckley, sold the property to a syndicate of local people. Designed by Dunedin architect John Burnside, the property was called "Redcastle" and is heritage listed.O'Neill, pp. 79, 81."St Kevin's College: A Brief History" ; retrieved 1 September 2014.
Redcastle was known for its beauty and its sporting associations (particularly those of St John McLean Buckley – He was, apart from his horse racing interests, president of cycling, coursing, gymnastic and tennis clubs). The homestead (the "castle") was (and is) a significant country house. The property comprising was purchased by the Christian Brothers at a cost of £8000 in 1925 and a further were added, at a cost of £1000, in 1928. The present campus thus has an area of 27 hectares."About St Kevin's College"; retrieved 30 August 2014.
In May 1926, Brother Moore, who had experience in fund-raising, came to Dunedin to organise a bazaar and lottery to fund the purchase of the land and the establishment of the college. His confrere, Brother Dowd, toured the country districts to collect donations. These initiatives resulted in a fund of £7000. In 1926, the construction of the buildings began under the supervision of Brother Prunster.
Commencement The college was named after the Irish saint, Kevin (498–618), the founder of the monastery and school of Glendalough. The blessing and opening of the college took place on Sunday, 6 February 1927. There were several Bishops present: Archbishop Redwood and Bishops O'Shea, Whyte, Cleary, Brodie and Liston. There were many priests and more than 2,500 friends and well-wishers present coming from Dunedin and nearby parts of both Otago and Canterbury. Classes commenced on Tuesday, 8 February 1927. There were 60 boarders and 31 day students. The Christian Brothers on the first staff were Brother Magee (the Rector) and Brothers Bowler, Brennan, Le Breton, Dowd, Ryan, Mills and Maye.O'Neill, p. 84. The Rector of Waitaki Boys' High School, Frank Milner, was present at the opening. When Frank Milner ("a firm friend of St Kevin's") died in 1944, the St Kevin's Boys formed a guard of honour for his remains as they left the church after the funeral service.O'Neill, pp. 83 and 90.
Ethos For its first 56 years, St Kevin's College was typical of Christian Brother boarding institutions in Australia and New Zealand. They were designed to provide a Catholic education for the sons of rural Catholic families. For the Christian Brothers they were places of particularly hard work. Individual Brothers taught throughout the day, coached sports teams after school, supervised meals and study, and were responsible for the dormitories at night. The Brothers generally had to be young men with energy.Robertson, p. 40.
Juniors In 1928 the Brothers took over the running of St Patrick's Primary School for boys and two brothers commuted daily from the college. In 1974 this school amalgamated with St Joseph's School conducted by the Dominican Sisters. But year 7 and 8 boys (aged 11 and 12) were enrolled at St Kevins and they were taught at St John's School (by Dominican sisters, Sisters Peter, Denise and GemmaSister Mary Augustine McCarthy O.P., pp. 290 and 291). St John's was located adjacent to the lower end of the college drive. This school too was amalgamated with St Joseph's School in 1983. In that year St Joseph's School became a full primary school and St Kevin's became a secondary school only with classes beginning with year 9 students (both boys and girls).
St Joseph's primary School is to be rebuilt on the St Kevin's College site and thus provide a completely new school for St Joseph's (which would continue to have a separate identity) and concentrate all Oamaru Catholic education on one site while also providing a use for "The Stables".
Overview
Enrolment In 2019, St Kevin's College had a roll of about 450 students including approximately 80 boarding students and 370 day students. Its gender composition in 2019 was female 50% and male 50%. Although in recent Years it has been noted that-for the first time in the college's history there is a majority of girls attending the school. In that year, the college's maximum roll under the Education Act 1989 was 465 pupils. In 2016, its ethnic composition was NZ European/Pākehā 70%, Asian 10%, Pacific 5% and Māori 10% and other 5%. St Kevin's College has a strong Catholic focus."St Kevins College (Oamaru) 25/10/2019", Education Review Office, School report (Retrieved 16 July 2022)"St Kevin's College, Profile (Retrieved 30 August 2014)
As a state-integrated school, St Kevin's College charges New Zealand-resident students compulsory attendance dues. For the 2025 school year, the attendance dues payable is $1,015 per year.
As of , the school has roll of students, of which (%) identify as Māori.
As of , the school has an Equity Index of , placing it amongst schools whose students have socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to decile 7 under the former socio-economic decile system).
Character In February 1983 St Kevin's became co-educational. Until 1979 girls boarded at Teschemakers, a secondary school located about 12 km south of Oamaru and at St Thomas's Girls Secondary School until the merger of the two schools. St Kevin's College currently has boarding capacity for over 100 students. Also in 1983, the college was integrated as a college with a "special character" under the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975.
The special character is broadly the connection of the school with the Catholic faith. Preference of enrolment is given to students who have established a link with the Catholic Church through baptism or membership of a parish. Preference is decided by the appropriate parish priest in each case. A preference certificate from the student's parish is required for each student with their application for enrolment at the school. Under the Act, the school may enrol "non-preference" students but the enrolment of such students is restricted to 5% of the total roll."St Kevin's College enrolment" (Retrieved 1 September 2014)
Students come mainly from Oamaru and the surrounding rural areas (many of them ex-pupils of St Joseph's School, Oamaru) with some coming from more distant New Zealand and overseas locations. The school benefits from modern facilities and spacious grounds to provide, amongst other learning opportunities, an equestrian academy, a primary-industry trades academy, and opportunities in the media and a wide range of sports activities-including but is not limited to Rugby, Netball, Cricket, Football and a wide array of others.St Kevin's College, "About" (Retrieved 6 June 2019)
Houses The houses of the college,"College Houses" St Kevin's College (Retrieved 26 February 2025) their colours and eponyms are as follows:
Clancy - Green - Brother Ferdinand Clancy, Christian Brothers Superior General (1950–1966) Magee - Red - Brother Felix Magee, the first Rector of the college in 1927 Treacy - Blue - Brother Ambrose Treacy, Christian Brothers Leader and pioneer in Australia and New Zealand Whyte - Yellow - James White, Bishop of Dunedin in 1927
Sport The college has produced seven All Blacks and one Silver Fern. Students participate in many sports including: hockey, rugby, basketball, soccer, netball, swimming, rowing, cricket, tennis, squash, badminton, skiing, snowboarding, multi-sport, athletics, tramping and kayaking. Swimming, athletic and cross-country sports are particularly emphasised and all students re heavily encouraged to participate."St Kevin's College Sport" (Retrieved 1 September 2014) The college has its own golf course, Indoor athletics track, shooting range, polo field, swimming pool, turf and gymnasium."About St Kevin's College" (Retrieved 1 September 2014)
St Kevins strongly participates in Rugby competitions. There is an annual game with Waitaki Boys' High School (located near Redcastle) for the Leo O’Malley Memorial Trophy ("the peanut"). This attracts up to 5000 spectators in anticipation of a tight match. As at 2014, Waitaki was the more frequent winner hoisting the trophy on 53 occasions to St Kevin's 21 wins with 5 draws. This rivalry is often referred to as "the blooder" by St Kevin's students, originating from St Kevin's students calling Waitaki Boys blood nuts because of the colour of their blazers. The St Kevin's blazers are blue. Rugby results table (Retrieved 1 September 2014)
Media and performance