Female teachers at elite all-boys school reveal vile Andrew Tate-inspired comments

Two women working at an elite Aussie all-boys private school have revealed horrifying situations they’ve endured following the ominous rise of notorious misogynist Andrew Tate.

For Sarah*, a typical day in what she once described as her dream career is dotted with horrifying instances of sexism.

Wolf-whistles, a never-ending rotation of suggestive remarks and, on one occasion, a shocking sexual fantasy aired to a room of men.

The perpetrators are all under 17. In fact, some of them are as young as 12.

Sarah teaches at a prestigious, five-figure-a-year private school in Adelaide, well known for creating the future leaders and top minds of the state.

“I’ve had students whistle at me before. I’ve had a student tell me boys in his year have had conversations about ‘gangbanging’ me,” she told The Advertiser, referring to what is described by Collins dictionary as an instance of sexual intercourse between a person and several men in succession, often against their will.

“It’s gross.

“I’ve had a colleague have a student come up behind her and imitate slapping her arse, for which he was punished.”

The comments “sadly, don’t come as a shock” anymore given how common they are, but as a result, she has come to feel “disempowered” in her position.

“Behind your back you know your students are talking about gangbanging you and you have to go and teach them,” the young educator said.

Sarah, who asked to remain anonymous, notes the rise in misogyny aimed at young female teachers has catapulted with the popularity of one notorious figure: Andrew Tate.

Female teachers have described vile remarks from students inspired by Andrew Tate’s views. Picture: File / NCA NewsWire

A self-professed misogynist, 37-year-old Tate has compared women to dogs and argued they should “bear some responsibility” for being raped.

He is currently facing criminal charges in Romania, including organised crime, human trafficking and rape — but the British-American ex-kickboxer’s influence has stuck, devastating classrooms across the globe.

Tate still has nearly 9 million followers on X, and was the fourth-most-searched topic in Google Australia’s news category last year, accumulating a cult following for preaching a message of ultra-masculinity.

“When you talk to the boys about (Tate) they play it off as a bit of a joke,” Sarah said of Tate’s impact.

“What’s worrying is that this dialogue being ‘funny’ and even accepted is really dangerous, especially in an all-boys school where they have limited engagement with women.

“It does make me sad that there aren’t other men that boys have (to look up to) at this age, they’re mainly footy players. Where are the other male role models for boys who aren’t into football and sport?”

Similarly, teacher *Olivia tells of boys “speaking in a high pitched voice” to mock female staff members, and inserting images of Andrew Tate in presentations to the delight of their classmates as teachers squirm.

“They see (Andrew Tate) as some kind of hero and like he is the gold standard of how men should be,” she said, admitting she’s battled feelings of anger, frustration and emotional exhaustion as a result.

“The conversations around Andrew Tate are really hard. I have tried to be just really patient, (but) when I started I was so fiery … I wanted to punch everyone in the face,” she joked.

“Masculinity is just a stupid concept really … I hate that there’s this idea of what you should be as a man … Private all-boys schools focus a lot on ‘manhood and character’, which sets unrealistic expectations (and which) people like Andrew Tate feed into,” she said.

Olivia, also speaking anonymously, endeavours to “cut through the noise” and “bring a level of human beingness” to the forefront.

Students as young as 12 ‘idolise’ Andrew Tate. Picture: Instagram

Female teachers are speaking out against the problematic behaviour from male students during Tate’s ominous rise. Picture: Instagram

For both Olivia and Sarah, who say “insidious” sexism exists in spades at this particular institution, opening up a dialogue by asking questions like, “What do you find so appealing about Andrew Tate?” has had mixed results.

“A lot of the boys would try to incite you to anger … in that way he was a fun point of conversation and intrigue for them, but it had this underlying grossness about it, where it encouraged a mob mentality,” Sarah said.

Sarah and Olivia’s experiences are shared among many Australian women in the teaching profession, with a recent report from Monash University finding Tate was “showing up” everywhere from rural towns to metropolitan schools, with some women feeling unsafe as a result.

The research, authored by Dr Stephanie Wescott and Professor Steven Roberts explores the power of “manfluencers” like Tate changing the way boys interact with their female teachers and peers.

It compiled interviews from 30 female teachers and found “widespread experience of sexual harassment, sexism, and misogyny perpetrated by boys towards women teachers, and the ominous presence of Andrew Tate shaping their behaviour”.

“The consistency is one of the most extraordinary things about what we found in this study,” Dr Wescott said.

Tate’s consistent presence in schools across Australia has been ‘extraordinary’. Picture: Daniel Mihailescu / AFP

It’s not the first time Tate’s bleak presence in schools has reared its ugly head.

In 2022, an Adelaide high school made global headlines for its approach to stamping out Tate-esque misogyny including boys “barking” at a female teacher.

Unley High School principal Greg Rolton became an unwitting hero for his school’s take-down of the “mega misogynist”, which involved sending guidelines to parents and teachers to help deal with students exposed to the “extreme sexist, misogynistic and toxic views” of Tate.

While at the time, many SA schools responded similarly with targeted initiatives, Sarah and Olivia said there is a deeper issue embedded in the culture of their school.

Unley High School principal Greg Rolton. Picture: Supplied

“The type of sexism that exists at an elite all-boys private school is a bit more invisible, it exists in the way in which young men will treat you differently purely because you’re female,” Sarah said.

“I think my job is harder than perhaps a male older equivalent teaching the same thing. I have to work harder for the boys’ respect.

“That is challenging, especially when you’re someone who doesn’t have a deep voice or a commanding physical presence that the boys respond to.”

For Olivia, the disparity presents in boys being “defensive” during the celebration of International Women’s Day and in her general teachings.

“I often touch on the inequalities that exist between men and women, particularly in the developing world … I have also talked about how more women are impacted by climate change than men. There’s a lot of data to back this up.

“You share these things not to say ‘men are bad’ … There’s a myriad of ways that women are more disadvantaged than men. I’m just trying to build their awareness (but it can) spark defensive reactions.”

So what is the school doing about it?

“The school is definitely trying to address sexism and misogyny and it’s been great to see the student leaders and prefects take this on board through running workshops with experts about respectful relationships,” Sarah explained.

In her lessons, she is dedicated to encouraging critical thinking and “expanding the boys’ knowledge of female narrators, female main characters and texts that challenge patriarchal ideologies”.

“Boys in these schools need to learn to interact with girls in a positive way, and not just see them as sort of animals in a zoo,” she added.

For Olivia, it’s looking to figures such as Teach Us Consent founder Chanel Contos, who works tirelessly in the sex education sphere for the protection of women and girls, and locally, inyourskin founder Dr Tessa Opie, who visits schools around SA to discuss respectful relationships.