Parents remove kids from Golden Grove, Paralowie high schools amid bullying scandals

One student targeted to be in a sexualised TikTok video, another traumatised so badly she was withdrawn from school – what’s really happening in our schools?

Two mums say online and in-person bullying in Adelaide schools led them to remove their daughters from the classroom.

One shattered mother described the extent of bullying at Golden Grove High School, detailing how her daughter was disgustingly targeted by other students.

The mother, who is not named to protect her and her daughter’s privacy, told The Messenger her senior student-aged daughter was approached two weeks ago by female students who tried to coerce her to appear in a sexualised TikTok clip.

The victim was left in tears.

“Some of the ‘mainstream’ girls tried to get her to be in a TikTok video and were asking her about sex and if she had a boyfriend,” the mum said.

“They asked her to go into the toilets for the TikTok video.

“My daughter said it made her feel absolutely sick to her stomach.”

A culture of bullying at Golden Grove High School has seen one mother remove her daughter from the school. Picture: Brenton Edwards

The mother said the daughter required counselling afterwards and the harassment was described as “grooming”.

A second mother withdrew her daughter from Paralowie High School at the start of this year, citing an environment at the school that did little to stamp out bullying.

The mother described how TikTok videos – viewed by The Messenger – had been spreading around the school and included sexually explicit images of students in underwear.

Paralowie R-12 is the latest school to be caught up in a vile TikTok trend sweeping SA schools. Picture: TikTok

The mother claimed the school had last year been engulfed in a nude photo scandal in which photos of students were distributed among peers without consent.

“Behaviour like that is rampant (at Paralowie),” she said.

An Education Department spokeswoman said any reported incident at the school of harassment or bullying on social media was “always” followed up and investigated.

“If evidence is found, the parents of victims are contacted every time,” she said.

“At all times the poster’s parents are contacted and are made aware that the victim’s parents have been advised to report the matter to SAPOL.”

The explosive claims come just two days after the school was at the centre of a vile TikTok trend in which female students at the school were rated for their “hotness” and appeared on lists titled “biggest sl**s”.

On Friday morning principal Peter Kuss sent correspondence to Golden Grove parents and caregivers explaining how they were combating the scourge — two days after The Messenger exposed the disturbing trend.

“The school acted as soon as these videos were brought to our attention, and unfortunately, we have found a number of others,” he wrote.

Mr Kuss said the videos had been reported to TikTok and the eSafety Commissioner.

“Your child’s welfare is the number one priority of our school,” he wrote.

Cyber-bullying TikTok trend sweeping SA schools. Pictures: TikTok

One mother of a 13-year-old student who appeared on a “hottest” and “prettiest” list said the response was “reactive not proactive”.

“Thank goodness they have reported it but was that before or after the backlash is my question?” she said.

Videos also emerged on Friday linked to accounts masquerading as Adelaide Botanic, Le Fevre, Willunga, Salisbury East, Blackwood and Christies Beach high schools.

One post from a Christies Beach High School account was called out by a commenter for “ableism” after it featured a description of a student using their mental health.

Several posts from a Blackwood High School account, which had posted 84 videos about students at the school, were questioned after including references to LGBT+ relationships and featured crude descriptors.

When asked if the Education Department would launch an investigation into the clips, which remain prevalent on the social media platform, a spokeswoman did not directly respond.

“This is a societal issue, not linked to any one school, region or demographic,” she said.

“It is important that parents, schools, police, and community leaders work together to help young people make good decisions when using social media platforms.

“We urge parents and carers to talk to their children about the challenges posed by these platforms and to reinforce information about cyber safety and the responsible use of social media.

“Schools have a key role to play but are only one component in the education and management of how young people use social media.”