[2] Established on 1 April 1943, it is set in just over 3 hectares of level grounds close to Royal Oak Shopping complex.

With the growth of Manukau City in recent years, the board of trustees decided in 1997 that it was time to affirm that it was an Auckland school: accordingly it was decided to rename the school to "Royal Oak Intermediate" to better reflect its location.

Between the years of 1912 and 1922, the area now occupied by the school was the site of the "Boyd Zoo", a major local attraction at the time.

Prior to the building being finally commissioned as a school, it was used initially as a temporary hospital during World War II.

Henri Binsted (Principal on 1 April 1943 – 1947), Cecil Grainger, William Jordan and Robert Buchanan.