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Auckland teenagers could face police charges after the posting of more footage of serious fights on internet video website YouTube.
The latest videos show brawls between Kelston Boys High and Liston College students.
The graphic scenes, in two videos, show two boys throwing big punches and tackling each other for up to a minute, as crowds from both schools cheer them on.
In Hastings, two teenagers appeared in court facing assault charges after posting a fight on the website. It's believed the fight was planned to be shown on YouTube before it began. Police were called in after they were tipped off about the video. It's not known if the Auckland fights were intended to be shown on YouTube.
Assault charges may be laid in this latest case. Kelston Boys principal Steve Watt said if the fights were real, he would contact the authorities.
"I've got no problems taking it straight to the police - the police can lay assault charges. I'm quite happy with that. There's no way I would be protecting our kids if something like that was happening. What is acceptable about that? Normal people don't do it. If they can be identified as from the school, then we deal with it, as well. The police action down there [Hastings], I thought, was really good."
Even if the police didn't lay charges, Watt said he would severely discipline the students involved, regardless of whether the fight had been staged.
"It's stupid sensationalism by kids if it's a set-up. If we can identify kids, they will certainly be dealt with as severely as [possible]. If it is serious assault, we're certainly not ducking away from that. If you can identify kids, then yes, you can certainly take action. But the degree you can take action depends on how identifiable they are."
While not shying away from blaming the students, Watt said some of the blame lay with YouTube.
"The problem is the lack of responsibility of the entrepreneurs who promote this sort of thing because they're glorifying it, as well. But then, it's a free world, so how do you stop that? It's frustrating because there's a lot more positive things we want to do and get on with education."
Liston principal Chris Rooney was not available for comment.
