A Northland school responsible for a trip that ended with a dramatic sea rescue of two students knocked out of a kayak into rough swells has been sentenced.

Twenty-two students aged 13 and 14 and a mixture of five staff and parent helpers from Tauraroa Area School went on an outdoor education trip aboard Dive! Tutukaka’s vessel Perfect Day on December 7, 2020.

The group was snorkelling and kayaking in deep water at the Poor Knights Island Marine Reserve.

Half an hour before they were due to head back to shore for the day, six students - two snorkelling while the others kayaked - made their way into a narrow crevice in the rocks at Cave Bay.

Sea conditions suddenly changed and swells started to peak at around 1.5m high. While four of the students fought their way to safety, the remaining two were trapped in the cave after being knocked into the water from their double kayak.

One of the stranded kayakers - a girl - got her feet trapped in a crevasse and was submerged each time a wave crashed over her head.

A student who had managed to escape the cave signalled for help.

After 15 minutes a Dive! Tutukaka staff member managed to rescue the girl. She suffered minor cuts to her hands, feet, and head.

But they couldn’t get the other student, a boy, back to safety. Instead, churning waves trapped them at the back of the cave with the boy.

They managed to climb onto a ledge above the water. There, the pair waited for more than two hours to be as darkness fell with the sound of the waves around them.

Eventually, Land Search and Rescue New Zealand alongside St John Mid-North Territory Manager Andrew Fergusson, a trained rescue swimmer, was able to rescue them.

Meanwhile, parents and caregivers of the students who were waiting in Tūtūkākā to collect them at the scheduled time, grew distraught and anxious when they learned a rescue was underway.

Concern deepened when they were told students were not wearing life jackets and the boy in the cave did not have a wetsuit, as the one he was given was too small and he wasn’t offered another one.

A WorkSafe investigation found the school failed to consider the on-water risks and controls for the trip, and had inadequate supervision in place. More generally, the school did not have an outdoor education safety management system in place for such trips.

Tauraroa Area School board of trustees pleaded guilty to one charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 for exposing two individuals to the risk of harm or illness.

Dive! Tutukaka faces the same charge under the act and is still before the court but has not yet entered a plea.

Judge John McDonald sentenced the school in the Whangārei District Court today to pay emotional reparation to both students - the sum of which is suppressed. He did not impose a fine primarily because of the school’s inability to pay any substantial fine imposed.

The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $1.5 million.

The Judge said the school was funded primarily by government grants and any significant fine would “cripple” the school and reduce the amount of money available for the education of students.

He ordered the school to pay half of the prosecution fees, which were around $2500.

WorkSafe’s area investigation manager Danielle Henry said schools and parents shouldn’t view this case as forbidding outdoor education, which is an important part of school life.

“Students should be able to participate safely and parents must have confidence their tamariki will be kept safe.

“This incident had all the hallmarks of a drowning in the making. I commend the bravery of the survivors who came forward to give their evidence. They were left traumatised by what happened, and it’s only by extremely good luck that they were able to go home to their whānau.”

Earlier this year a Hamilton high school avoided a WorkSafe prosecution after a student drowned while on a trip to Waihī.

WorkSafe instead accepted Melville High School Board of Trustees’ enforceable undertaking application, which has involved a series of changes being made at the school and more than $100,000 paid to the family of Jaden Chhayrann.

The 17-year-old got caught in a rip while going for a swim on a geography trip with his Melville High School class at Waihī Beach on February 21, 2020.

Despite a teacher’s efforts to rescue him, Jaden was swept out to sea.

The Advocate understands WorkSafe rejected Tauraroa Area School’s enforceable undertaking application.