Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Teacher injured at Ōtūmoetai College, police and school investigating

Ayla Yeoman
Ayla Yeoman
Reporter·SunLive·
1 Aug, 2025 12:33 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Ōtūmoetai College in Tauranga is investigating an incident involving a teacher and a student. Photo / NZME

Ōtūmoetai College in Tauranga is investigating an incident involving a teacher and a student. Photo / NZME

A teacher was injured when a student allegedly lashed out after being asked to put their phone away at Tauranga’s Ōtūmoetai College.

Police received a report of a serious assault at the school on Windsor Rd about 10.15am on Tuesday.

“One person received injuries and was transported to a nearby medical centre to be assessed,” police said.

Officers were speaking to one person about the matter, and inquiries were continuing.

Ōtūmoetai College principal Russell Gordon said the school was investigating an incident involving a student and a teacher.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“This incident involved a single student who was asked to put their phone away,” he said, adding that the phone was not confiscated.

The incident resulted in the teacher being taken to Accident and HealthCare on 2nd Ave as a precaution, before being sent home to recuperate.

“We have involved the police, and they are conducting their inquiries,” Gordon said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

All college procedures and policies were followed “swiftly and effectively by our staff immediately after the incident”.

The college had a zero-tolerance policy for antisocial or violent behaviour.

“As principal, I fully support the board’s unwavering stance on this. We are committed to fostering a safe and respectful environment, and any behaviour compromising this will be met with serious consequences.”

He said the school adhered to the nationwide ban on phone use in schools, “unless the teacher uses their discretion to allow it for educational purposes”.

Students who witnessed the event had been offered counselling services, and their families were contacted immediately.

“We are diligently working to ensure all appropriate actions are taken in line with our policies and legal requirements.”

He declined to provide further details while the school investigated the incident.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Premium
Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

She was offered an NZ book deal. Then they asked her for $23k

03 Nov 06:59 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Council weighs tougher dog rules to protect wildlife

03 Nov 05:00 PM
Premium
Letters to the Editor

Ratepayers question if new council’s self‑assessment stacks up – Letters

03 Nov 03:00 PM

Sponsored

Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable

22 Sep 01:23 AM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Premium
Premium
She was offered an NZ book deal. Then they asked her for $23k
Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

She was offered an NZ book deal. Then they asked her for $23k

Hachette issues an alert after a US author's publishing offer is exposed as a scam.

03 Nov 06:59 PM
Council weighs tougher dog rules to protect wildlife
Bay of Plenty Times

Council weighs tougher dog rules to protect wildlife

03 Nov 05:00 PM
Premium
Premium
Ratepayers question if new council’s self‑assessment stacks up – Letters
Letters to the Editor

Ratepayers question if new council’s self‑assessment stacks up – Letters

03 Nov 03:00 PM


Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable
Sponsored

Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable

22 Sep 01:23 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP