An Oamaru school's under fire for barring students from calling their parents when a group of pupils and staff went missing on a camp.

Two students and two staff from St Kevin's College went missing overnight last month at Mount Somers.

Search and Rescue teams found them the next morning.

Parenting commentator, Nathan Wallis says if it's school policy, it'd be okay.

"If it was imposed on them and there's nowhere written down that they're allowed to do that and the parents could have a reasonable expectation that they could contact their kids at any time- then it's not acceptable."

The school says it's ordered a full review.

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