EDITORIAL: Eyes on systems to stop bullies

Allegations of school bullying revealed in the Wanganui Chronicle over the weekend will not have come as a surprise to some.
Despite educators' best efforts, bullying to one degree or another has always been an issue in schools.
At this point, the claims of Wanganui mother Pip Houghton-Rountree are just that, claims. However, her 13-year-old son, who was a boarder at New Plymouth Boys' High School, has been interviewed by Child, Youth and Family, and the video of that interview has been passed on to police, following claims of bullying in the boy's dormitory.
Among other things, Ms Houghton-Rountree's son claims to have been forced to squat while holding a drawer out in front of him, as well as being made to do press-ups and sit-ups.
In its defence, the school has pledged to help the police in any way it can, and claims Ms Houghton-Rountree's son said in a survey that he liked being at New Plymouth Boys' High, and was looking forward to coming back in term two.
As plenty of parents will know, there's a lot of truth in the old saying that "boys will be boys".
This is in no way an excuse for bullying, in any of its various forms, but it is indicative that if a bunch of young adolescent males are placed together in a room for a substantial period of time, the chances are that, occasionally, things will get out of hand. This is not helped by the fact that no matter what efforts are made by boarding schools, their charges can't be watched 24/7.
But surely another concern surrounding this whole sad scenario is the fact the school has been in the spotlight over bullying before. A boarder was beaten by four other students at the school in 2008, and a report identified a culture of bullying in the school's hostel.
You would expect that any school which truly cares for its students would have put extensive measures in place after such an incident to ensure there was as little chance of a repeat as possible.
It bears repeating that investigations are still ongoing into the allegations made by Ms Houghton-Rountree and her son.
Depending on the outcome, it may force those in charge at New Plymouth Boys' High School to take another look at the systems at their school.
Feedback: editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz