A Dunedin secondary school has not ruled out sending more pupils to the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre, but is monitoring developments in the Mangatepopo river tragedy case.
The centre pleaded guilty this week to two charges laid by the Department of Labour after six pupils and a teacher from the Elim Christian College in Auckland died when a flash flood swept down the Mangatepopo Gorge, near Turangi, on April 15.
A sentencing date has yet to be set by the Taumarunui District Court.
St Hildas Collegiate principal Melissa Bell said pupils from the school had attended the centre for several years and careful consideration would be given by the school before sending more pupils.
"It's an incredibly difficult situation," Ms Bell said. "In terms of outdoor activity, there's always going to be risk.
"I'm sure OPC will learn from the decisions they made and they will put procedures in place to avoid this happening again.
"It's a case of wait and see what they do before we make a decision about sending pupils back. We are not ruling out working with them again," she said.
OPC chief executive Grant Davidson assured the public procedures had been put in place to protect participants in the centre's activities.
It was now registered with the MetService to receive severe weather warnings - something it had not done before the river tragedy.
At the time of the tragedy, the centre was not aware of a severe warning issued for the area.
