School investigating how student fell from balcony

An ambulance came to Whangarei Boys' High School and took the boy to Whangarei Hospital with a broken wrist.

Whangarei Boys' High School is investigating how a Year 11 student fell from a second-storey balcony injuring himself.

St John Ambulance was called to the school at 8.30am yesterday after the student, who is new to the school this year, fell from a balcony on the technology building and broke his wrist. The boy was taken to Whangarei Hospital where he was treated for his injuries.

Headmaster Al Kirk said the incident occurred before classes began, however some students were present and witnessed the fall.

Senior staff and guidance counsellors have been working together to carry out an investigation into the incident and support students who were traumatised by the fall.

"The traumatic incidents response team kicked in and the Ministry of Education is involved. We have been delighted with how the system has worked," Mr Kirk said.

"We usually have our assembly in period four but we brought it forward to period two mainly to ask the boys not to text and use social media to talk about what happened and speculate about why. It would be totally disrespectful to [the student], his family and his friends."

After the special assembly, the day continued in a normal fashion, Mr Kirk said.

A health and safety report was being completed by senior staff. An incident like this had never occurred in the 15 years Mr Kirk had been headmaster at the school.

An assistant principal had been in touch with the student's parents who were in hospital with him yesterday, and Mr Kirk intended to be in touch with them personally later in the day. He hoped the student would be back at school once he had recovered.

ACC figures show Northland claims were made for 2648 students for injuries at school in the last calendar year, up from 2591 in 2012.