Waitaki Boys' High School is a secondary school for boys located in the northern part of the town of Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. As of 2020, it has a school roll of approximately 400 students.
The school has a house system with four houses, Don, Forrester, Lee and Sutherland. It organises some cultural activities together with its nearby sister school, Waitaki Girls' High School.
The school is notable for its British colonial architecture, encompassing such historic buildings such as the Hall of Memories, an assembly hall, built to honour its former pupils who died in various wars. Most of the blocks of classrooms at Waitaki Boys High School are named after famous past students, also known as Waitakians or Old Boys. The main, and oldest block of the school is named after Denis Blundell.
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History
The idea of establishing a boys' high school in Oamaru originated with Samuel Shrimski, who was one of the two members of parliament representing the Waitaki electorate.
Enrolment
As of July 2026, the school has roll of 425 students, of which 66 (15.5%) identify as Māori.
As of 2026, the school has an Equity Index of 477, placing it amongst schools whose students have above average socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to decile 4 under the former socio-economic decile system).
Rectors
The following is a complete list of the rectors of Waitaki Boys' High School:
Notable alumni
Peter Arnett – journalist
Fraser Barron – bomber pilot during World War II
James Bertram – professor, journalist
Denis Blundell – lawyer, governor-general
W. D. Borrie – demographer and academic
Charles Brasch – poet
Douglas Carter – former National MP for the Raglan electorate
Ian Cathcart – basketball player
Bramwell Cook - Salvation Army officer and doctor
Gonville ffrench-Beytagh (1912–1991) – Dean of Johannesburg and an anti-apartheid activist.
Sir Malcolm Grant – chairman of NHS England and Chancellor, University of York (former Provost and President of University College London (2003–2013)
Ron Guthrey – Mayor of Christchurch (1968–1971)
Dean Hall – video game designer, mountaineer
A. M. Hamilton – engineer
Brian Henderson – newsreader in Australia
Lindsay Merritt Inglis (1894–1966), a senior officer in the New Zealand Military Forces
Chris Jackson – medical oncologist and professor at University of Otago