A P.E.I. judge has sentenced a teenager to two years' probation and 60 hours of community service for injuries he caused with a machete in the parking lot of Bluefield High School.

Judge Nancy Orr handed down the sentence Wednesday as she presided over youth court in Charlottetown.

"If this youth was an adult, he'd be looking at a significant period of time in jail," Orr told the court.

The victim in the case, who was 16 at the time, suffered a broken elbow and needed stitches to an elbow and the index fingers of both hands.

The accused, who was 17 with no prior record, pleaded guilty in January to one count of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Neither teen can be identified because the case falls under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The victim chose not to file an impact statement with the court, so the sentence was based on the accused youth's background, the facts of the case, and precedents in similar cases across Canada.

Court was told that the accused had struggled in school but began to do well during his time at Bluefield, located in the central P.E.I. community of Hampshire. However, family circumstances meant he had to change schools, and he eventually dropped out. On the day of the offence, he was back at Bluefield to visit friends there.

Court heard that the victim provoked the attack by insulting the accused, and then struck him several times.

At first, the accused tried not to engage, but he eventually went to the vehicle in which he had arrived at the school, and took out a machete. He used it to hit the victim on his elbow, causing serious injuries.

In court on Wednesday; the young man said he was sorry for the things he had done.

As part of his sentence, he has to be engaged in either work or school, and a risk assessment will have to be done before he can return to high school. His 60 hours of community service has to be finished within six months, Orr said.