Brisbane Grammar School apologises over Year 12 graduation video showing offensive messages written on student’s uniform

A video of Year 12 graduation celebrations posted on social media by one of the state’s top schools has inadvertently featured offensive messages written on a student’s shirt.

In response to questions from The Courier-Mail, Brisbane Grammar School Senior Deputy Headmaster David Carroll apologised.

A video of Year 12 graduation celebrations posted on social media by one of the state’s top schools has inadvertently featured offensive messages written on a student’s shirt.

The shirt featured the racial slur “n--ga” around the student’s shoulder, as well as another message reading “can you suck it?” written on the shirt covering the student’s lower back.

Other expletive language, such as “f---” and “s---”, also featured in further messages written on the back of the shirt, but the nature of those messages was not offensive.

The footage uploaded on Brisbane Grammar School’s Instagram account only featured the student in question for three seconds at the start, but the words were clearly visible.

The accompanying caption read: “Year 12 students signing off on their incredible journey at BGS.”

A screenshot from a video posted by Brisbane Grammar School featuring a racial slur.

The video was originally posted by the school on Thursday afternoon and had been live for almost 24 hours, attracting 750 ‘likes’.

It was removed on Friday afternoon after The Courier-Mail contacted the school.

One concerned Courier-Mail reader said it was “a disgusting racial slur” and “extremely upsetting … especially in 2023”.

In response to questions from The Courier-Mail, Brisbane Grammar School Senior Deputy Headmaster David Carroll apologised.

“The Year 12 shirt signing is a milestone for our departing seniors, which is typically celebrated between staff and students,” he said.

“We shared this event on social media to celebrate this occasion with our community.

“The students are provided guidelines of what is expected and appropriate for this activity.

“We do not condone inappropriate, derogatory or offensive language at the school, and apologise that it has caused offence.

“We have removed the video to cause no further harm or offence.”

Originally published as Brisbane Grammar School apologises over Year 12 graduation video showing offensive messages written on student’s uniform