A student from an all girls’ school in Wellington charged with seriously assaulting a classmate will not be returning to the school.
The wounded student was taken to hospital in a serious condition on July 5 after the attack at Wellington Girls’ College (WGC).
In a message read to students at the first class of the term and shared with families online, the principal Julia Davidson said the incident was “traumatic for the staff and students involved”.
The injured girl was recovering with the support of her family.
“The other student will not be returning to WGC and she is being dealt with by the courts, so we are unable to give details,” she wrote.
“Obviously we are all shocked by what happened. But we also need to reflect on this incident and make changes to ensure this never happens again.”
Local iwi Te Ati Awa had blessed the space last Friday, she said.
“We are keen to show the victim that we are worried about her and that we care about her and I know many of you will be as well. If you’d like to write a note or a card for her, just drop it into Student office and we’ll get it to her.”
She also thanked the students and staff involved on the day for their “sensible and brave” responses.
“Their prompt thinking meant we were able to call the police and ambulance immediately – which meant things were dealt with really quickly.”
Davidson said the school was aware of “a lot of gossip”.
“We are unable to give any details because the matter is now before the courts, but it would be helpful if you could shut down speculation at home. It doesn’t help and it’s really hard for the victim to know people are talking about her.”
The focus now was on supporting the injured student and those who were in class at the time.
rnz.co.nz