KEY POINTS:
An education adviser is helping Fairfield College in Hamilton through a crisis during which nearly half the staff have packed up and left.
Dennis Finn, who is a statutory adviser assigned to the school, said there was a serious breakdown in relationships between staff and the senior leadership within the decile 4 school, which has a roll of about 1300 students.
He said the staff turnover rate of close to 50 per cent in the past two years was quite high.
Mr Finn said there had been considerable changes at the school since the principal, Julie Small, took over two years ago.
"It creates a situation of uncertainty and that in itself becomes an issue," he said.
Mr Finn spoke to the Herald after a quiet demonstration of about 10 pupils outside the front gate turned into a free-for-all as a mob of 200 students rushed from their classrooms to vent their frustration about the school's direction.
One student showed a message on his cellphone forwarded among hundreds of pupils the night before which read:
"There's a strike tomorrow first period on the field, don't tell any teachers or they could get fired."
Ms Small said she had introduced a number of strategies to lift student achievement levels and combat
the school's growing truancy problem. While pass rates were yet to be confirmed, Ms Small said just 29 per cent of her students passed NCEA level 1 last year - a notable drop on the 52 per cent in 2007.
"That's unacceptable and we as a school have to do better," she said.
"But sometimes when you try to raise the bar the processes that are involved can be uncomfortable for some people," she said.
A "concerned parent" told the Herald there had been a lack of transparency since Ms Small took over.
He believed there had been a "totalitarian approach" which had marginalised some parents and students.
But Ms Small rejected the claims, saying her school curriculum required input from parents.
Year 12 students Cassie Barr and Logan Madams said Ms Small had made some mistakes but "didn't deserve the abuse". Cassie said most of protesters probably didn't have any idea what they were doing.
