Remorse over hazing ritual

Headmaster Michael Leach said the students were remorseful for a 'prank that went wrong'. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Suspended King’s boys assigned community service and counselling

Seven suspended senior King's College students will have to do voluntary community service and go through anti-bullying programmes before being allowed back in class.

Headmaster Michael Leach told the Herald on Sunday that the Year 12 and 13 students had told the board of trustees a controversial hazing ritual on young boarders last month was a "prank that went wrong" and they were remorseful.

They were all keen to come back for their final year at the Otahuhu-based college and prepared to undertake anti-bullying courses and community service before re-applying for school next year.

The school's board sat in a marathon 12-hour disciplinary session on Friday to decide the fate of the students after three Year 9 boys who boarded at the school were marched blindfolded like "prisoners of war" with pillowslips covering their heads.

One boy was reportedly hit during the night-time hazing incident.

Leach said the senior boys each told the school board a similar story about the incident at 3.30am on Thursday, October 23.

"They felt it was a prank and it went wrong," said Leach.

He said the senior students, who have been suspended until the end of the year, would still be able to sit their external exams.

The board did not want the incident to impact on future study and was keen to work around the suspension so the boys could sit university entrance exams.

They had even been advised to look at applying for aggregate passes for subjects if they had become unduly stressed by the disciplinary process. "We don't want to trivialise the event and we won't tolerate bullying but we understand this is university and their future."

Leach said the three Year 9 boys had returned to the college's boarding house after Labour Weekend and intended to carry on as boarding pupils at the private school.

"All three have indicated they will be back at King's and we have been in constant contact with their parents.

"All the boys have had opportunity for counselling and taken it and we are discreetly touching base every day in case they need any more support," said Leach. The headmaster said he had watched the young boys playing cricket and tennis at school yesterday.

He said the range of conditions to re-enrol at King's varied for each of the suspended boys.

Each was required to go through some form of anti-bullying training. That included measures to help young men stand up to peers and be advocates for other students in the face of bullying.

"They will also be expected to do community service," he said.

They would use resources from the New Zealand Peace Programme, the Ministry of Education and the police.

The dormitory incident had meant King's would look at reviewing its safety programme schoolwide.

Leach, who is just three weeks into his new headmaster job, was unable to say if there was a bullying culture at the school, but said this episode provided an opportunity to examine the culture and delve more deeply.

"In any school I have been in the first priority is that students will not learn unless they feel safe.

"Parents trust that when their children walk through the gates that you will look after their children.

"That's a mandate that boards, teachers and especially principals need to take on board and fulfil that responsibility."