He attended Hamilton West School followed by Hamilton High School. From 1921 onwards he worked in solicitors' offices and studied law by distance through Auckland University College, as well as spending time at the farm of his mother's brother, Oakley Sargeson, in Ōkahukura, King Country. Although outwardly conforming with his parents' expectations, Sargeson was struggling inwardly with his sexuality and what he wanted to do with his life. In 1925, after an argument with his mother because she read his private correspondence, he moved to Auckland to continue his studies, and obtained his legal qualifications in 1926. He began writing short stories in the late 1920s.