High Street School, established in 1887, was closed in February, 2011 and has been in the ministry's disposal process since December 2011.
A Ministry of Education spokeswoman said part of the site had been sold to the former owners or their successors under section 40 of the Public Works Act 1981, and the remainder of the site was bought by Ngai Tahu under a right of first refusal agreement.
The Public Works Act 1981 requires surplus Crown-owned property to be offered to other government departments, previous property owners and local iwi, before being placed on the open market.
The spokeswoman said the sale was still to be settled and she was unable to say how much it had been sold for, or who the former owners were.
The school is one of several Dunedin schools which have been on the ministry's disposal list for up to three years, and appear to be making some movements in terms of new ownership.
The former Waldronville School property has been placed on the open market after it was offered to Ngai Tahu by the ministry and turned down.
The 50-year-old school was closed in April 2010 because of a declining roll, and since then it has been going through the ministry's disposal process.
Colliers International commercial/industrial sales and leasing Dunedin manager Dean Collins described the 2.02ha property as ''a development opportunity not to be missed''.
It includes both the former school at 5A Vulcan Rd and the early childhood centre at 319 Brighton Rd, which have a combined capital value of $1,165,000.
Mr Collins said the property had been offered to Ngai Tahu for an undisclosed amount, but the iwi turned it down at that price.
''So it's on the open market at that price now, and it can't be sold for less than that price without the property having to be offered back to Ngai Tahu.''
Tenders close at 4pm on October 3, and there had been ''good interest'' in the property, Mr Collins said.
Other Dunedin schools still awaiting disposal by the ministry are Corstorphine School (closed in July 2010) and Forbury School (closed in December 2011).
At present, the school sites are leased to the Methodist Mission until disposal occurs.
Corstorphine School is to be offered back to the former owners or their successors in the coming months, and the Dunedin City Council has expressed an interest in buying Forbury School.
The ministry is waiting for the council to consider whether it wishes to buy the site.
Dunedin City Council economic development and property group manager Robert Clark could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
