Parents react after students filmed throwing punches, kicks in ‘fight club’ at Pedare Christian College in Golden Grove
Students at an Adelaide private school have been filmed kicking and punching each other in a toilet block ‘fight club’ – but exasperated parents say it’s news to them.
SA News
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Frustrated parents say an Adelaide private school has kept them in the dark about a fight club between students.
One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said the school hadn’t contacted parents about the concerning incident.
“It’s not ideal as you want your kids to be safe at school,” the father said.
“It’s pretty full on, they’re throwing some decent punches.”
Another parent called on the school to toughen its mobile phone ban, as well as punish the students involved.
“The fact they have phones now encourages them to do it, but they shouldn’t have them in the first place,” the parent said.
On Wednesday, The Advertiser revealed disturbing videos had emerged of a “fight club” at Pedare Christian College in Golden Grove, showing teen boys brawling in a bathroom.
The students can be heard in one video yelling “get him!” and “oh sh*t!” as two boys face off in front of a urinal.
The boys lunge at each other before throwing kicks and punches and grabbing each other around the torso.
In another video a student urges others to “make sure no one’s coming” before a fight begins.
One of the boys cops a kick to the abdomen before doubling over and falling to the ground.
The source who provided the videos to The Advertiser, who did not want to be identified, said they depicted “a fight club at this school where students are matched up to fight”.
They understood there had been “at least” 15 such fights over the past year.
“I want other parents and families to know what happens at this school before they send their children here,” the source said.
Pedare Christian College principal James Tamblyn has been contacted for comment regarding the latest comments from parents.
However, on Wednesday he confirmed to The Advertiser that students from the college were involved and the school was responding with “the very best interests” of the students in mind.
He did not respond to claims about how many fights had occurred on the campus.
“Clearly, if there are students who are in any way conducting themselves in a manner which is potentially dangerous then that is outside our expectations,” Mr Tamblyn said.
“The safety and wellbeing of students and staff and community members is always our highest priority.”
The Advertiser received multiple videos of male students wearing Pedare sport uniforms fighting each other, or chanting from the sidelines.
The footage appears to be filmed in a school toilet block.
In one video a young person’s voice can be heard counting down before a fight.
In another, a student yells “go!” to encourage two boys to begin a fight.
There are about 1100 students from reception to year 12 enrolled at the independent, coeducational college, which this year charged fees of more than $12,000 for year 12.
It is located in Golden Grove, next door to both public Golden Grove High School and Catholic school Gleeson College.
Mr Tamblyn said Pedare Christian College had a mobile phone ban in place and students were meant to leave any phones in their locker.
“We have a policy that students shouldn’t have access to their phones at all during the day,” he said.
Mr Tamblyn would not confirm, when asked by The Advertiser, how many students were involved in the fights or filming of them, their ages, when the fights occurred or if they had been reported to SA Police.
Mr Tamblyn also would not say if any disciplinary action had been taken against students or if parents of the wider school population had been notified.
“We have diligently worked our way through following policy and procedure … in response to the behaviour that’s obviously outside our expectations,” he said.
“We continually, continually reiterate our expectations.
“We’ve worked with all families and all students to provision appropriate supports.”
Mr Tamblyn said he was “enormously proud of our student body whose behaviours, in general, reflect our core values of kindness and respect and inclusivity”.
The videos come after footage of violent incidents emerged at neighbouring Golden Grove High School last week.
In that case, a year 7 student allegedly removed a knife from his backpack and threatened another pupil.
In 2022, Golden Grove High was engulfed in controversy after a spate of violent incidents and anti-social student behaviour. Graphic videos of student fights were published on social media and the school was rocked as the series of videos came to light.
A behavioural crackdown and a positive behaviour program then produced remarkable results, as incidents and suspensions plummeted.
Latest Education Department statistics show suspensions at the school dropped by about 45 per cent from 2023 to 2024.
Education Minister Blair Boyer last month revealed that a government survey found three-quarters of public school leaders and two-thirds of teachers felt they were dealing with fewer serious incidents in the wake of the introduction of school mobile phone bans in 2023.
Critical incidents in public schools involving social media – including cyber bullying, circulation of explicit images or derogatory content posted online – had reduced by 57 per cent from 2023 to 2024.
And incidents relating to “behaviour issues involving a device”, such as students filming fights, fell 38 per cent over the same period.
A new federal policy will impose bans on children under 16 using social media platforms from December.
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