The Methodist Church has dissolved the Wesley College Trust Board and will launch an external review into the school’s governance amid ongoing concerns about boarder safety at the South Auckland institution.
The church resolved at its conference last week to dismantle the current board structure, with findings from the review to inform how a new board will be reconstituted.
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During the transition, Methodist Church president Te Aroha Rountree will act as the interim Wesley College Trust Board, supported by the vice president and general secretary.
Rountree said the decisions followed careful reflection about the 181-year-old college’s future direction and the church’s responsibilities as its founder.
“This is a time to listen, to learn, and to rebuild with integrity and care. The wellbeing of students, staff, and whānau remains at the heart of everything we do,” she said.
“Our decision to pause, review, and renew its governance is about ensuring the college has the strongest possible foundation for the years ahead.”
The Ministry of Education suspended Wesley’s hostel licence earlier this month, forcing an urgent closure after what it described as a pattern of serious and ongoing concerns about boarder safety.
Wesley had previous said its boarding hostels would shut at the end of the year.
Announced today, an external review would begin shortly, with findings and recommendations to be presented to the church’s Tauiwi Strategy and Hui Pōari for consideration.
Rountree said the transition period would provide space for discernment and improvement. “We are deeply grateful to the outgoing Trust Board members for their generous service,” she said in a media release.
Earlier this month, Ministry of Education leader of operations and integration Sean Teddy said “further serious incidents have occurred this year” after the hostel’s licence was renewed in April, noting that “some improvements” had been made.
“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,” he said.
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.
The college launched legal action following the ministry’s move, with its principal telling media he believed the suspension was unfair.
The latest developments to affect Wesley College 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.
