Howick Intermediate principal gives evidence on camp drownings

The principal of Howick Intermediate School yesterday told the parents of two boys who drowned at a school camp that he wished the school could have "done something more to have ensured things turned out differently."

John McAleese was giving evidence at the Thames Coroner's Court inquest into the deaths of Revan Naidoo and Joshua McNaught. The 11-year-olds drowned in February at the school camp near Thames.

Revan's body was found immediately but it was almost two hours before teachers and supervising parents realised Joshua was missing. Both bodies were found in a swimming hole in the Kauaeranga River.

As Mr McAleese read his statement yesterday, Revan's mother, Nadira Naidoo, left the court and could be heard crying loudly outside for almost 10 minutes. During the first part of Mr McAleese's testimony, Joshua's mother, Kirsten McNaught, held a framed photograph up for the principal to see.

"As principal of the school involved, I feel a deep sense of loss and regret at what has occurred. However, I am unable to offer any explanation that would be likely to satisfy the families affected as to what occurred and why," Mr McAleese said.

"Obviously we tried to be as vigilant as humanly possible."

The McNaught family lawyer, Lavanya Dunraj, asked Mr McAleese in cross-examination if a roll call performed by the supervising teachers almost two hours after Revan's body was found was reasonable practice.

Mr McAleese: "No, reasonable practice would be to account for all students as quickly as possible."

Ms Dunraj: "So all students were not accounted for as quickly as possible."

Mr McAleese: "No, it would appear not."

Earlier yesterday, two of the four parent helpers on the camp said other children had told them long before the roll call that both Joshua and Revan were missing.

One of the parents - who all have their names suppressed - said she went up to the camp buildings to supervise the children after the senior teacher told everyone to leave the swimming hole.

"All the time we were up there the children were saying that Joshua was missing and that another boy was missing too."

The woman said she carried out two to three headcounts while the children were in the dining room and got the same number each time - 56. She passed the information on to a teacher via a child.

In cross-examination the woman said she did not know the exact number of children who were on the camp and was hearing for the first time during the inquest that there were initially 59 students.

Another parent helper, who was supervising the dam area where the boys were playing before they drowned, said another child told him soon after Revan had been found that two children were missing. "She said, 'Two children are missing,' and I said, 'One child' and she said, 'No, two.' So I said, 'Okay, let's go up [to the buildings] and count'."

The man said he and another parent counted twice and got the same number. He went back down to the dam area to tell one of the teachers, who "indicated then that there might be a problem."

"I knew then either the head count was wrong or there was another child missing. After that we went back up and did the roll call."

The inquest is before Thames coroner John Jenkison.