UPDATED 12.16pm: The New Zealand Secondary School Sports Council is backing the stance of St Bede's College over two misbehaving students.

Justice Dunningham granted an interim injunction allowing Jack Bell and Jordan Kennedy to compete at the Maadi Cup yesterday after the school banned them for breaching airport security.

Sports Council Executive Director Garry Carnachan says all schools will be concerned at the implications in terms of the ability to manage behaviour of students representing the school.

"While it's the right of parents to take action if they're unhappy with any aspect of their child's schooling, we're disappointed with the reactions of both the boys and the parents.

"And if you consider the penalties incurred in recent breaches of New Zealand airport security, the boys have committed a serious offence here."

 

Parents should be respecting school decisions if their children misbehave, not challenging them, according to the Secondary Principals' Association.

Two parents took St Bede's College to court, and won, after it banned their boys from competing in a rowing regatta for breaching airport security.

Jack Bell and Jordan Kennedy were caught riding on the baggage conveyor at the Jetstar carousel in the arrivals hall at Auckland Airport’s domestic terminal.

The pair were given formal warnings by police and the Aviation Security Service (Avsec) after the prank shortly after arriving on a domestic flight from Christchurch.

SPANZ president Tom Parsons says he's surprised the parents challenged the school's decision.

"The students and the parents have up until this time had every confidence in the principal. He's not a new principal. I'm sure that the students had a reasonable expectation as to what the correct behaviour was."

Parsons says the rector is just doing his job.

"Principal's trying doing the best job they can as the keeper of the community standard is being undermined by a point of law, by vested interests in a particular area."

In a statement, the boys, who are now competing at Maadi Cup, said they're sorry for their stupid behaviour but the penalty outweighed the seriousness of their actions.

St Bede's has been told to prove it did due diligence in the decision making process.

Justice Dunningham says she granted the interim injunction allowing the boys to compete in the Maadi Cup after weighing up what consequences the boys could suffer if they had indeed been unfairly reprimanded.

Their parents say they're key to the teams they're in and are in contention for various representative teams.

Now the parents have to submit a formal statement of claim to the High Court by tomorrow, or the ban comes back into force.

In her decision, Justice Dunningham says once that happens, if St Bede's can prove there were no deficiencies in the decision making process, its decision will stand.

That hearing will likely take place after the Maadi Cup has wrapped up.