A student who was called out for posing in blackface for a Snapchat photo has left Auckland's Westlake Girls High School, the college has confirmed.
Last Wednesday, a Snapchat image of the student wearing black face paint captioned "wassup ma n****" was shared on Facebook by a school prefect and other Westlake students, who wrote that they were sick of the racism they had experienced.
The image was shared on the same day George Floyd was killed in the USA by white police officers, which has this week sparked widespread protest action and civil unrest across the USA, and a solidarity march attended by thousands in Auckland.
Westlake Girls High School today confirmed to 1 NEWS that "school management has spoken to the student and her parents, and as a result that student has chosen not to return to school.
"Our school has been the subject of a large amount of social media commentary over the past week, especially for a perceived lack of action because we have chosen not to publicly comment as we work through this issue within our school," a spokesperson said.
"As you would expect, some of this has been abusive.
"Our students and parent community remain our primary focus and we are in the process of engagement with both, so that we can use this opportunity positively to heal and move forward."
"Westlake Girls High School is a multi-cultural school that genuinely celebrates diversity and works hard to foster a culture that allows all students to feel respected for who they are," the spokesperson said.
"We have never condoned racist behaviour of any type, at any time."
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