A 63-year-old man abused by a teacher at Geelong College more than 50 years ago has received a $1 million settlement from the exclusive school just hours before the matter was due to reach court.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he was repeatedly abused in his first year at the boarding school by housemaster Colin McPherson at the Newtown campus in 1968.

Geelong College.

In 1996 he told the school, which is now affiliated with the Uniting Church, of his sexual abuse at the hands of McPherson but was told by then principal Pauline Turner that the college would not accept any liability.

The school never referred the allegations to police, but in 2004 agreed to pay for 10 counselling sessions on the conditions the victim sign a confidentiality agreement and waive his common law rights.