The grim word that keeps school head awake at night

“Not many things scare me, boys,” New Plymouth Boys' High School headmaster Paul Veric said in a school assembly speech last Monday.

“I don't lie awake at night worrying about that many things. I sleep very well, other than on this one topic. That word. That terrible word. Suicide.”

On the first Monday of the school term, Veric stood before 1200 students and talked about suicide.

His speech has been shared on social media hundreds of times and attracted hundreds of comments, from across New Zealand and around the world.

One woman said on Facebook it was “the most honest and touching letter I have read in a long time. Finally, someone who is prepared to speak openly and honestly about this most awful, heartbreaking subject”.

Veric told the Herald he did not see his speech as revolutionary: “It may be perceived as being controversial, but there's that many media articles and TV programmes about suicide that I don't really think I'm a trailblazer in terms of speaking about the issue. I don't really think it's pioneering or risky.”

For the past month, the Herald has run a special series called Break the Silence to highlight our unacceptably high youth suicide rates. We canvassed our 507 secondary schools to understand how the issue was handled in the classroom. Principals and teachers felt gagged from talking about suicide with students because long-standing legislation and official guidelines had advised them to steer talk away from it.

Every principal would be battling with the issue, Veric said. “We grapple with it every day and every year.”

He had received numerous positive messages from parents and other community members about his speech, but his students’ reaction had been the most important.

“I've heard reports that the boys went home and had conversations with their parents about this . . . that's the most important thing here.”