19 Aug 2013

New name, new start suggested for school

7:40 pm on 19 August 2013

Pamapuria School needs a new name to mark a new beginning following the jailing of its disgraced principal, a Ngati Kahu kuia says.

James Parker, who was the school's deputy principal, was last week sentenced to preventive detention with a minimum of seven years in prison for abusing 20 boys between 1999 and 2012.

Ngati Kahu kuia Waireti Walters, who advises the school, says it's been tainted by association with Parker and needs a fresh image. She has suggested the name should be "Te Ara Hou" - the new pathway.

Ms Walters says the proposal will be put to Pamapuria's new board of trustees.

The school is about to elect a new board and appoint a new principal to replace those sacked after the Parker scandal.