‘You should just end your life’: Teen relentlessly targeted by bullies at Nuriootpa High School

Horrific slurs against a student with autism are the latest shocking allegations of bullying at one of SA’s biggest regional high schools.

Bullying towards a student with autism at a Barossa Valley high school has escalated to a “disgusting” level where he has continuously been called a “rapist, pedophile”, and told to “kill himself” since he enrolled.

Speaking to the Advertiser, the student’s mother, Evelyn*, said her son had been bullied since “day one” of high school in 2020, which has continued despite her notifying the school on multiple occasions.

Saturday June 10 2023 Nuriootpa High School. Nuriootpa South Australia. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

“We’re lucky we don’t have a kid in the local cemetery, and I tell you that with absolute confidence,” Evelyn said.

“He has had kids following him and walking behind him saying, ‘how many kids have you f****d today’, calling him a meth head and that he lives in a meth house.

“That’s the nature of what is getting chanted and said to him.”

Evelyn said the bullying escalated to death threats after an unfounded rumour started circulating around the school in 2021, that her son had sexually assaulted another student.

She said the school was notified about the allegations but when nothing was done, she advised the school that the police would be contacted.

“Our son is still continuing to be targeted by many students at NHS,” she said.

“The false allegations of serious criminal offences such as – rape and pedophilia, are highly inappropriate and damaging to the wrongly accused – (our son).”

Evelyn said since the allegations in 2021, her son has also been threatened outside of school.

“Our son says there are even kids he doesn’t know outside of NHS who were threatening to stab him and kill him while he was walking down the main street,” she said.

“They don’t know him personally, and aside from those threats, they have never spoken to my son before.”

There have been multiple allegations of widespread bullying at Nuriootpa High School. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Evelyn and her husband join multiple other parents with claims of widespread bullying at NHS.

The Advertiser has seen multiple emails sent from Evelyn to the school where she has detailed specific incidents of bullying.

The Advertiser has also seen screenshots of a social media group chat where multiple students have targeted Evelyn’s son, calling him a “pedo”, telling him to “kill himself” and to “end” his own life.

Department for Education CEO Martin Westwell said NHS had been working “extensively” with Evelyn and her husband to address bullying towards their son, and that there would be immediate action taken.

“Nuriootpa High School have worked extensively with this family over the four years that the student has been at the school to support his and other student’s behaviour and interactions,” he said.

Mr Westwell said new measures would be “immediately implemented” including a full-time on-site Education Director and funding a parental liaison role to work with families directly about concerns.

He said there will also include additional support for students with disabilities, including autism, will include a full-time behaviour support educator based on site, an inclusive educator to provide increased intensive support and establishing a parent support group.