New Zealand schools have been accused by medical researchers of failing to properly protect students from the sun - but a Tauranga principal says local schools are doing a good job.
Otago University research shows Kiwi schools still lag behind their Australian counterparts when it came to being sun smart, potentially influencing the lifetime risk of melanoma in future generations.
The newly-published analysis of results from a 2009 survey of 388 randomly selected schools around the country, found only 4 per cent met all 12 criteria in the New Zealand SunSmart Schools accreditation programme.
By contrast, 52 per cent of Australian schools surveyed in 2005 had attained Australia's equivalent accreditation. The study showed about a third of schools met 10 or 11 of the 12 criteria and one in sixth no more than half.
But Otumoetai School principal, and former Western Bay of Plenty Principals' Association president, Geoff Opie believed most Bay schools were sunsmart.