A Message from the Rector

By Richard Hall | Posted: Thursday September 23, 2021

To our OBHS Community.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding as we have been in the public eye this week. I thought it important to update you as we move into the weekend.

We can confirm that the student who travelled from Auckland to Dunedin last Friday has twice tested negative for Covid 19. He continues to be symptom free. The Ministry of Health has confirmed that he does not have the virus, and has also confirmed that no student or staff member at either our hostel or school has been exposed.

As soon as the senior leadership team and the board of trustees became aware of the situation, it was considered to be serious. As you know, we worked closely with investigating authorities and also with the Ministry of Health.

The board of trustees has appointed a lawyer to conduct an independent review of the incident, focusing on the time between the student’s arrival into Dunedin and his arrival at the hostel on Sunday night and then at school the next day. Questions about how the student was able to leave Auckland are outside the scope of the independent review, but we understand that other authorities are investigating this.  

We are aware of speculation in the community about the circumstances of the student’s return to Dunedin. We need to balance the student’s privacy rights against the community’s desire to understand how the situation arose. We can confirm that the student is not playing in any sporting events this weekend.

 We will continue to work with the appropriate authorities, and, if necessary, will provide our community with further updates. We feel confident that we have a safe environment for students to learn and we look forward to a positive and productive last week of term.

Richard Hall
Rector