Rotorua mum fighting for change after her son almost stood down from school for not shaving his moustache

February 24, 2020

Kauri Huriwai-Flavell, like most teenagers, cares about how he looks.

The mother of a Rotorua teen is lobbying for change, after her son was given a warning that he’d be stood down from school if he didn’t shave off his moustache.

Kauri Huriwai-Flavell had grown the moustache because he, like many young men, didn't want to look like a little boy.

But his school, Rotorua Lakes High, detest the mo. It said his mum agreed to the clean-shaven rule when she enrolled him. 

So, he shaved it off.

Now his mum, Paerangi Haimona, is fighting for change at the school, so her son and other boys can grow moustaches as they please.

“I understand it’s their rules and it's what they stand by, but I don’t think it’s got anything to do with their learning,” she told Seven Sharp.

“I’m gonna go to the next board trustee meeting. I’m still gonna fight for all parents.”

Rotorua Lakes High principal John Ward said in a statement to Seven Sharp, that he’s happy to review the rule, but only with widespread consultation with the community.

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