School 'coping well' after stabbing - principal

Principal Alan Liddle said his school was coping well after a student stabbed a maths teacher in front of shocked classmates yesterday. Photo / Supplied

Te Puke High School principal Alan Liddle says staff and students are coping well following the stabbing of a teacher by a student at the Western Bay of Plenty school yesterday.

Maths teacher Steve Hose, 53, was stabbed four times in the neck and shoulder with a 10cm kitchen knife by a 13-year-old student at the end of an afternoon class.

The incident occurred in a classroom in front of about 23 students.

Mr Hose was not seriously injured in the attack and was released from Tauranga Hospital in the afternoon.

The student who stabbed him was interviewed by police and put into the custody of Child, Youth and Family pending a family group conference.

Mr Liddle, who this morning met with parents and caregivers of the students in the Year 9 class, said everyone was dealing with the attack.

"We're actually coping well, we're working well together," Mr Liddle said.

"We're providing the students with ongoing support and the student body is actually in good spirits."

Mr Hose was feeling positive and was resting today, but Mr Liddle said it was not yet clear when he would return to work.

"We're just dealing with stuff on the ground ... we haven't discussed that yet."

A St John ambulance officer, who did not wish to be identified, yesterday said Mr Hose had been lucky as the wounds could have been a lot worse.

"They were not very nice wounds. They had the potential to be quite serious," the officer said.

"He was relatively stable. If the wounds had been in a different position, there was the potential it could have been fatal."

The stabbing was the second of a teacher in just over a year.

In March last year, Korean student Tae Won Chung, 17, stabbed teacher David Warren in the back in front of 20 other students at Avondale College.

He was jailed for 18 months and ordered to pay $10,000 to his victim.

Responding to yesterday's incident, the Secondary Principals Association said teachers needed more power to protect themselves as weapons, such as knives and screwdrivers, were becoming increasingly common in schools.

Education Minister Anne Tolley said measures where in place to reduce school violence, including a $45 million action plan launched last year to help reduce disruptive behaviour.

- NZPA