Townsville teacher’s career ended by violent student attacks

He was once an extroverted person who enjoyed playing sport and socialising, but after he was bashed and stabbed by students in separate attacks, Noel Gorringe says he will never be able to teach again.

NOEL Gorringe vows he will never be able to teach again after he was bashed and stabbed on two separate occasions in the classroom.

The former Queensland teacher, who worked in a Townsville high school, said he feels “broken” and that his experience “fundamentally changed” him.

“I’ve changed from being an extroverted person who enjoys going out, being around people, playing sport to being an introvert and wanting to avoid places where people are and kids particularly and being social,” he said.

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While a special education case manager, a position Mr Gorringe told The Sunday Mail he was untrained for, was punched several times by a student who also swung a stool at him.

“I could see in his eyes he was going to punch me, I backed away from the situation and he just came after me and punched me in the face,” he said.

In shock, Mr Gorringe said he tried to walk away from the situation but was followed by the student and hit again, until the student was held back by another teacher and teacher-aide.

“He broke free, and came across and punched me again, and then he ran out of the classroom,” he said.

“I left the classroom to report the incident, he caught up with me and attempted to punch me again, without touching him I put my hand up to his face to block the punch, and the student ran off.”

“As I came back in the next day, I couldn’t handle it … I had flashbacks of it all again, I just left,” he said.

Former Townsville teacher Noel Gorringe was bashed and stabbed by students. Picture: Evan Morgan

Mr Gorringe said he sought medical treatment, and sought professional help, and made a WorkCover claim and returned to work in August.

But in another alarming attack in April 2019, Mr Gorringe, while teaching physical education, a specialty he was not trained in, he was stabbed in the hand by a student with a broken plastic ruler, who he had sent out of the classroom to calm down, after disruptive behaviour.

“One of the kids opened the window where he was [standing outside], I went to close the window because the airconditioning was escaping, as I went to close the window he stabbed me with the plastic ruler he had broken in half,” he said.

Later, Mr Gorringe filed a WorkCover claim before later resigning in May 2020.

“Now I don’t have the mental strength or resilience to do it [teaching] and the whole process has robbed me of something I wanted to do and can’t do any more,” Mr Gorringe said.

Teachers’ Professional Association of Queensland state secretary Jack McGuire said he was disgusted that “yet another teacher has been the victim of extreme violence”.

A Maurice Blackburn spokesman said they were currently investigating a potential claim against the Education Department.