Wesley College has been ordered by the Ministry of Education to close its boarding hostels by this Friday, bringing forward a previously announced end-of-term deadline following “further serious incidents”.
The school announced two weeks ago it would close its boarding hostels by the end of Term 4, with board chairperson Jan Tasker saying it was now undertaking a full review and would only reopen when it could guarantee “the highest standards of safety, care, and student wellbeing”.
But in a post on the school’s Facebook page on Monday, principal Brian Evans said the Ministry had notified the school it would impose a “partial closure” of the hostels. Evans said the school was meeting with ministry officials today and would provide further updates.
The school board said it was seeking urgent legal advice regarding the Ministry of Education’s suspension of the hostel licence.
It followed a year-long 1News investigation into the school published in 2023 which raised stories of bullying, violence and abuse and historical violence at the special character Methodist school.
Ministry of Education leader operations and integration Sean Teddy said today the school’s licence had been suspended after a pattern of serious and ongoing concerns about safety and wellbeing of boarders.
“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.”
The Education Review Office had also recommended the suspension of the hostels’ licence in September.
“This 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,” Teddy said.
To minimise disruption to learning, boarders with NCEA commitments and international students could remain until exams finish and until the end of term respectively.
“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,” Teddy added.
