Ex-St Kevin’s student lights blazer in protest of culture

A St Kevin’s graduate has warned parents against sending their children to the elite school — after alumni Jordan De Goey’s arrest — claiming it has a culture of sexism and bullying.

A former student of St Kevin’s College in Toorak has warned parents against sending their children to St Kevin’s private school.

James Robinson — who graduated from the elite all-boys secondary college in 2013 — earlier took to social media to air a litany of assault and revenge porn claims in the wake of AFL player and former student Jordan De Doey’s arrest in New York over assault allegations.

Mr Robinson claimed De Goey’s arrest in the town that Mr Robinson now calls home was “unsurprising” due to the vile and sexist culture he witnessed during his time at the school.

Mr Robinson, who graduated from the elite all-boys secondary college in 2013, warned parents to avoid the school if they wanted their boys to become emotionally intelligent young men who respected women after his experience at the school wreaked havoc on his mental health.

Mr Robinson said he was “outed” as a queer person by his peers against his will and left suicidal at just 15 years old, while he witnessed students bully a transgender teacher, objectify female teaching staff and pull a knife on a taxi driver.

James Robinson taunted his former school on social media. Picture: Instagram

“St Kevin’s is a bubble where privileged young men can rehearse oppression without consequence, before graduating with flying colours into public,” Mr Robinson said.

“A place where “locker room talk” exists openly in hallways and classrooms,” he said.

“I saw a system designed to let young boys think they can do anything, assault anyone, and get away with it.”

Mr Robinson this week broke into the school grounds and set a St Kevin’s blazer alight upon learning of De Goey’s arrest.

“I broke into the school yesterday to protest. Something snapped in me this time,” he said.

“The patriarchal culture I saw inside the school gates burst out and made its way to New York, my new home for the last five years. (Allegedly) assaulting someone in a city, where many in my queer community, like me, are rape and sexual assault survivors.”

Former St Kevin’s students have applauded the former student for his “powerful message”, saying the school’s culture still had a “long way to go”.

“I do sadly know that these extremely damaging attitudes are still present … there’s still such a long way to go culture wise,” a year 12 student said.

Speaking to the Herald Sun, Mr Robinson said: “Guys from St Kevin’s have a very possessive attitude towards women because they’ve grown up around men who are like-minded and exist within the same world of privilege as them.

“If you want your child to get good grades, by all means send them to St Kevin’s, but if you’re wanting to raise a child that’s maybe a bit more intelligent rather than just educated, then I think there’s a lot of other options around education,” he said.

“It has taken me quite a long time to really come to terms with what the effect of going to a school like St Kevin’s has done to my psyche, what it’s done to my behaviour and what it’s done to my mental health.

“St Kevin’s is a business but when you’re prioritising the reputation of the school over safety and wellbeing of your students, it becomes a problem.”

James Robinson taunted his former school on social media. Picture: Instagram

James Robinson said he broke into school grounds to set a St Kevin’s blazer on fire. Picture: Instagram

Mr Robinson detailed the sexualised behaviour he saw his peers instigate against female teachers.

“There was revenge porn that was being sent around the school and being texted between students,” he said.

“There were a lot of incidents around female teachers. I remember when the teacher would leave the classroom, and they would rub themselves against their pencil cases.”

The photographer and filmmaker said he was grateful that school principal Deborah Barker had reached out to him following his viral social media revelations after dealing with “dismissive” former principal Stephen Russell before graduating in 2013.

“I’m really happy that she reached out and, most of all, that there’s finally some female leadership at the school because I think that that can instigate some kind of change,” Mr Robinson said.

Mr Robinson and De Goey attended the school under Mr Russell’s leadership which ended in January this year when Ms Barker assumed the head role.

After moving to New York in 2017, Mr Robinson said the allegations levelled against De Goey brought him back to a “dark place” that felt as though St Kevin’s toxic culture had reared its ugly head in his safe space overseas.

“New York is a place where for the first time in my life I could fully be myself and speak my mind … and so when the allegations came out against Jordan De Goey it just hit really close to home because this whole world I thought I had left behind in Melbourne had finally reached me in a place where I feel safe,” he said.

It is believed the school has not contacted Victoria Police over Mr Robinson’s alleged break-in to school grounds where the photographs of his burning blazer were taken.

The former student set his old school's blazer on fire in protest of the elite institution’s culture.

Problems with sexism and misogyny at the school came to light in October 2019, when footage circulated showing a group of St Kevin’s students singing an offensive chant on a tram.

An independent review into the culture at St Kevin’s College this year found sexism and misogyny are “still clearly an issue” at the elite Catholic school.

On January 1, Deborah Barker became the first female principal at St Kevin’s, after the string of scandals led to Mr Russell’s resignation.

More than 1000 members of the school community, including current and former students, staff and parents, told Nous Consulting the Melbourne college was “still reeling” after a tumultuous few years and they wanted to see change “sooner, rather than later”.

St Kevin’s principal Deborah Barker has written to parents and students telling them she had tried to contact Mr Robinson.

“On Wednesday night I became aware of social media posts by a former student who attended year 12 at the College in 2013,” she wrote.

“I immediately took steps to reach out to James because I genuinely want to listen to, and fully understand, his heartfelt concerns and his personal journey.

“Most importantly I want James to know that we care for him and acknowledge his courage for speaking out.

“James and I have already been in communication and we plan to meet shortly.

“I would also like to acknowledge and thank the many current and former students who posted strong messages of support to James.

“Your support is vital and I am sure this means a lot to James at this critical time,” she said.

Ms Barker said the school “still have much to do” despite much goodness in it.

“It has become clear in my first year, of the importance of listening deeply as we strive to deliver a safe and inclusive environment for all of our students in partnership with their families,” she said.

Originally published as Ex-St Kevin’s student lights blazer in protest of culture