Cops told of school bully claims

Pip Houghton-Roundtree has taken her son out of the school. Photo / Wanganui Chronicle

A 13-year-old Wanganui boy has been pulled out of New Plymouth Boys' High School after claims he was repeatedly bullied in a dormitory at the school.

The boy's mother, Pip Houghton-Rountree, said that after weeks of phone calls, meetings with school staff and hearing her son sobbing over the phone, she decided to go to police.

The school has had to investigate serious bullying claims in recent years, including allegations of dorm crawling, in which third formers crawl on elbows across a dorm floor and are kicked by seniors.

In his written statement to Wanganui Police on May 4, the boy said that while in his dormitory he was assaulted by a senior student.

He said one of the worst instances was in early February when he woke about 11pm and wanted to go to the toilet.

"I accidentally woke [the student] and he was real mad. He made me go and get the middle drawer from my drawer set and I had to carry it over to the wall.

"He made me squat down with my back against the wall and I had to hold the drawer out in front of me."

If his arms slipped even a small amount, the other student slapped and punched him and made him hold the drawer for another minute, the boy said.

He was then made to do "supermans", which involved lying on his belly and holding his arms and legs off the ground. The student also made him do press-ups then sit-ups.

When the boy went into a full-scale panic attack and was unable to breathe, his tormentor ran to get the housemaster.

Houghton-Rountree said she had never forgotten that midnight phone call from the school.

"The housemaster was standing over my son, and he was panicking. I heard my son trying to breathe. He said he was going to give my son some Ventolin and I said, 'No, don't you give him any of that, he is not an asthmatic'.

"I thought it must be a panic attack and I knew something wasn't right."

New Plymouth Boys' High School principal Michael McMenamin said it was sad the police were now involved. "But we will do all we can to help."

The boy had completed a survey at the end of term one and had not indicated he had issues.

Houghton-Rountree said her son, who had previously boarded at Huntley School for two years, knew what boarding should be like.

He was awarded the Cave Scholarship to New Plymouth Boys' High and wanted to go there because his grandfather had been a student there.

Houghton-Rountree said there were pictures and accompanying comments on a student's cellphone as evidence of the bullying of her son.