Before the local school was built, students travelled 14km to the Oratia Valley, it was the beginning of an ongoing relationship with the Oratia school. According to Bob Harvey's book "Rolling Thunder", the first school ran two days a week in 1910 and was sited where the toilets are now situated. On the other school days the children caught the train to Whatipu.

The local school closed in 1932, and it was early 1970's when Karekare residents were inspired to set up a local school again. Much local generosity has provided the ideas and foundations for the school. Jonathan Hunt, a resident and then a new Lynn member of parliament, provided part of his land, and to this day only requires a bottle of Henderson wine for payment each year. Another local resident, Kubi Witten-Hannah had been accepted for teacher training, and was eager to take on the responsibility of starting a new school from scratch. Many other local residents put in time and extra effort to raise the money for the facilities. By 1976 $2000 had been fundraised, just enough to start the foundations to a building designed by another local, Bill Witten-Hannah, who was also an Education Board architect. Meanwhile, Kubi agreed to start the school in a barn on his property. There were five students Sasha Gandy, Mathew Grove, Susan Humphries, Daniel Witten-Hannah and Cushla Yeoman. The money to complete the school came from a donor who wanted to remain anonymous for 20 years, his name is Mr Lewisham, he saw the local school funding problems in the New Zealand Herald and donated $20,000, his name will not be forgotten now.

In the early 1980's the school became too large to be classified a correspondence school, so it became part of the Oratia Primary School, and so our relationship with the Oratia Valley became important again.
by Julia Moore