On the first day of term Slade Butler was beaten up on his way to school.
The 16-year-old was left bloodied, bruised and needing stitches
to his head after being kicked and attacked with a bottle.
"I was just walking to school with a fellow student and these two
kids came across the road. I was walking towards them and
they started walking towards me. One of them said 'do you
wanna step me out' and started swinging at me," Butler says.
Before he knew it he had four boys on top of him.
"He had a bottle and swiped it across me head," Butler recalls. "At that point I was a bit dazed and I came to the ground, then they started stomping on my head while I was down in the foetal position."
Butler's mother was shaken when she saw her son.
"Outside of the office a teacher stopped me and told me to brace myself because my son was in quite a state, and that I will be shocked when I see him," Jo says.
"When I got there he was covered in blood. His hair was all stuck to his face and all down his shorts was covered in blood, and he was just holding up a pad to the side of his face to try and stop it all coming out."
Butlers beating was shocking, but what was even more surprising, was how his school - Waiuku College - dealt with the violence.
After just two days, two of the three boys who were stood down
over the attack, were back at school.
Butler was not told and when he saw them wandering round the school
he stood up in assembly and said he did not feel safe. He walked
out of assembly and 200 fellow students walked out with him in
support.
Butler had never been in a fight before and after such significant injuries both he and his parents expected action.
"I understood one was suspended until the Board of Trustees disciplinary hearing and the other two students were stood down for at least five days.
"That didn't happen - the other two students were only stood down for two days," he says. "Everyone deserves the right to an education, but I wouldn't expect if I assaulted someone...to be back after two days."
His father Rocky says he went back to school the day after it happened.
"He's had good support from his friends and has that sort of character which is really good, but to have these other two thugs come back to school after being stood down for only two days was a bit much," he says.
Butler decided to stand up in assembly to express his thoughts.
"I stood up in front of the assembly and said it was ridiculous for these kids to be at school after only two days of suspension for assault and if you agree with me let's get out of here. I thought only a handful of students were going to walk out with me but obviously not - around 200 students walked out with me.
"I don't feel safe at this school because there's too much violence and these kids are still there threatening students and picking on other kids."
Not only did Butler have the support of his fellow students, but privately even some of his teachers congratulated him on his stand.
However, none of this is new to Waiuku College. As far back as 2001 the Education Review Office has been telling the school it has got a serious problem with violence, intimidation and bullying.
Close Up asked Waiuku School's principal Stuart Harrison to respond. See related video for more...
