Seymour College declines to comment on ‘historical recollections’ of manure slide

Seymour College has failed to deny disturbing hazing incidents occurred on school grounds, after claims an autistic student was forced to go down a manure slide. Read the letter.

The private school at the centre of claims that students, including one with autism, were forced to go down a manure slide as part of a “torture day”, has responded to the allegations.

In a letter to parents and guardians, Seymour College principal Vanessa Browning said they couldn’t comment on “historical recollections” reported in the media.

The letter was sent hours after The Advertiser revealed a former Seymour College was among students subjected to a series of humiliating rituals, including being made to slide across metres of wet manure and forced into cold showers while clothed as part of hazing known as “torture days”.

The woman, who is now 28 and asked not to be named, said her mental health had declined because of the 2012 incident and bullying leading up to the incident.

Seymour College letter in reaction to our article on a historic bullying case. Picture: Supplied

In the letter, Ms Browning said: “The Advertiser continues to publish stories about private schools.”

“We cannot comment on private conversations … I can assure you that our approach remains centred on encouraging open dialogue and conversation and we always encourage members of our college to take it up directly.”

The former student told The Advertiser that on the night before “torture day” in 2012 when she was in year 10, she organised for a note from teachers to be put on her door telling year 12s not to disturb her and put her bed against the wall.

However, she says the next morning year 12s were banging on the door saying “you have to, you have to, it’s torture day”.

They then led her outside to a plastic slippery slide covered in manure.

“They were screaming in my face, saying I had to slide down it and so I did it, stomach first,” she said.

She believed she was targeted because she had autism, had been self-harming and had long been a victim of bullies who teased her because she didn’t wear expensive clothes.

The woman approached The Advertiser following a story early this month on claims by the father of a day student that his daughter had been relentlessly bullied this year – including threats of stabbing and having her glasses broken twice – and that the school’s response had been woefully inadequate.

Seymour College, which is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for girls in Glen Osmond, declined to comment directly to The Advertiser on the claims.