Schools in discussions with ministry, police following closures over Parliament occupation

Wednesday, 23 February 2022

Wellington principals near the parliamentary occupation have met with the Ministry of Education and police following the closure of two high schools over safety concerns.

St Mary’s College became the latest school to decide to close after Wellington Girls’ College, due to the protest which reached new levels of tension in the schools’ vicinity on Tuesday morning.

Wellington Girls’ College principal Julia Davidson said discussions were ongoing for a safe solution to reopen the schools following a meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

“Things are just slowly starting to be promulgated and hopefully by the end of the week we will know a lot more.”

A person was arrested after a car was driven at police and protesters during a dawn operation at the Parliament occupation.

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Sacred Heart Cathedral School, one of the primary schools in Thorndon, will remain open along with Thorndon School.

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Wellington Girls' College principal Julia Davidson said Thorndon principals had constructive discussions with police and the Ministry of Education on Wednesday afternoon regarding the protest.

Staff and students suffered daily abuse from protesters for wearing masks – including being filmed and interrupted as they tried to walk to school.

Both schools will be shut until March 1, though they will be offering supervision for some students.

At this stage, primary schools in Thorndon, Sacred Heart Cathedral School and Thorndon School, will remain open as will primary and secondary school Queen Margaret College, which is situated further away from the protest.

Schools are situated near Molesworth St, where early morning clashes became heated. Two schools have now closed because of this.

Sacred Heart Cathedral School principal Bernadette Murfitt said: “We are undertaking a risk assessment daily, we have good systems in place to mitigate and manage risk.”

One potential solution discussed was a creating a safe corridor from the city to the schools lined with police, volunteers or Māori wardens, Murfitt said.

Davidson said one of the key reasons for closing the school was that staff accompanying students on walks up to the school no longer felt safe doing so.

The school’s head of the English department, Melanie Eade, said it had been unsettling to witness even calm, smiling protesters telling students to take off their masks when teachers had been wearing them all day.

“It all adds to [students’] mental load and an overall sense of this group taking away their freedoms while yelling about their own at the beginning and end of every day for over two weeks now,” Eade said.

Staff had taken on extra duties at the start and end of the school day to be a visible presence on the streets for their students.

“But it cuts into our planning time, and it is unpleasant to be alongside the protesters and the level of unpredictability in the streets.”

St Mary’s College principal Andrew Murray said that despite using security guards, volunteers and even picking up students himself, it was difficult to always accompany high school students who arrived at different times.

Students being dropped off by buses had to walk past protesters – even on their alternative route avoiding the occupation.

“There seems to be a number of protesters down at the railway station, so that is a bit of a concern.”

Following violent scenes on Tuesday, Murray received “numerous” messages from concerned parents and students which had caused him to reflect overnight, he said.

Closing the school was not a decision he took lightly – but he was confident the school’s online learning programme would work, he said.