Wesley College, in Pukekohe, was established in 1844 and is New Zealand's oldest registered secondary school. Photo / File
An Auckland school ordered to close its boarding hostels urgently amid student safety concerns is going to court to keep its dorms open until the end of term.
The Ministry of Education has ordered Wesley College - the country’s oldest school - to close its hostels at the end of this week after serious and “harmful” incidents related to student safety. The Ministry said it was suspending Wesley’s licence to house boarders, effective from this Friday.
Wesley’s trust board had earlier acknowledged “ongoing concerns about student safety and hostel culture” and last month said it would close them at the end of the term.
The trust board urgently met with education officials on Monday in an effort to keep the dorms open but on Thursday morning revealed it had filed an appeal in the Auckland District Court against the suspension.
Wesley’s trust board said on Thursday that the timing and nature of the ministry’s suspension had “placed significant pressure on students, families, and staff”.
“The board believes the ministry’s approach has been unnecessarily disruptive, particularly for Year 9 and 10 students in the final weeks of the school year who are engaged in exams, learning projects, and end-of-year commitments. The board is disappointed the ministry also chose to release details to the media before meeting with the board,” Wesley said.
“The trust board and school leadership take student safety seriously and believe they have met all requirements.
“The legal action relates solely to the abrupt closure directive, which affects Year 9 and Year 10 students. As the school community was advised earlier this term, we planned to close the hostels at the end of Term 4 in an orderly and well-supported way. The board remains focused on ensuring the safety, stability and continuity of care for all Wesley College students boarding in the hostels.”
The board said that it had also made changes to address any concerns. They included:
As first reported by the Herald, the Education Review Office (ERO) recommended the suspension of Wesley’s license.
“This decision [to close the hostels] follows a pattern of serious and ongoing concerns about the safety and wellbeing of boarders,” the Ministry of Education’s Sean Teddy told the Herald.
“While some improvements have been made since special conditions were imposed on the hostel’s renewed licence in April 2025, further serious incidents have occurred this year. These incidents have highlighted persistent issues with student safety, staff oversight and the hostel’s ability to shift away from longstanding practices that place boarders at risk.”
ERO’s recommendation to suspend the licence was made in a September report. The office has refused a request from the Herald to proactively release that report.
Teddy said that the ERO’s recommendation, “alongside the ministry’s own monitoring and the recurrence of harmful incidents, has led to the conclusion that continued operation of the hostel in its current state is not in the best interests of boarders”.
While international boarders and any students sitting NCEA assessments will be able to stay on to complete the term, all others must leave by this Friday.
“These safeguards apply solely to the interim exam period of term 4, 2025. The hostel remains subject to closure in 2026, as previously announced by the Wesley College Trust Board, and the licence remains suspended as outlined in the official suspension notice,” Teddy said.
“The ministry remains focused on making sure that all boarders are safe and supported and will continue to work closely with the school and families to manage this transition.”
Wesley College announced last month that the hostels would close at the end of this term “for a period sufficient to ensure meaningful and lasting improvements are achieved”.
The school said the decision followed “ongoing concerns about student safety and hostel culture” and that its trust board accepted “further deep, structural change is required”.
“Student safety and wellbeing are our highest priority,” Tasker said last month.
“We acknowledge that our hostel provision has not yet met the consistent standard we expect. Closing the hostels is a decisive step that will allow us to reset the culture, systems and facilities once and for all.”
Lane Nichols is Auckland desk editor for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.