Watch: Qld school fights and brawls caught on video
Queensland schools have been involved in a series of sickening fight videos in recent years, leading to a spike in suspensions and expulsions. WATCH THE VIDEOS
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A leading Queensland school official insists an “enormous” amount of work is being done to maximise student learning, despite the emergence of a “fight club” culture across the state.
Queensland state high schools handed out more than 400 disciplinary actions per day in 2021 with some of the state’s most popular schools recording alarming spikes in student suspensions and expulsions.
More than 83,000 disciplinary actions were dished out across the state in 2021 including for physical violence, drug possession and vaping.
A string of shocking social media fight videos emerged across Queensland in 2022 and 2023, though Queensland Secondary Principals Association president Mark Breckenridge said disciplinary actions were a “last resort” for any principal.
“If the student’s actions are serious or persistent enough, principals might believe that time out of school is appropriate,” Mr Breckenridge said.
These are some of Queensland’s most shocking school fight videos across 2022 and 2023.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT – SEE THE VIDEOS BELOW
MARCH 15, 2022
Shocking footage emerged of a teenage girl being attacked at Bundaberg State High School.
In the video circulated on social media, the victim appears to be a teenage girl aged about 15 or 16.
The footage shows two girls talking before one lashes out, punching the other girl and attacking her, before pushing her onto the concrete stairs.
A crowd can be seen watching on while an excited male voice narrates in the background.
A spokesman for Queensland’s Department of Education said at the time the school was taking action in the wake of the video.
“Like all Queensland state schools, Bundaberg State High School is committed to providing a safe, respectful and disciplined learning environment,” he said.
MARCH 30, 2022
Disturbing footage of high school students fighting at a shopping centre, while wearing school uniforms, emerged online.
The video of three Redcliffe State High School students involved in a physical fight — where one girl was stuck multiple times in the head — appeared on social media before it was later removed.
The video shows several Redcliffe State High School students at a supermarket, when one of three female students attacks another.
The girl can be seen striking the other student multiple times before pushing her to the ground and repeatedly striking her in the head while a third female student watches.
An adult then appears and breaks up the fight.
The ugly incident occurred on March 23, outside of school hours, at a local shopping centre.
JUNE 3, 2022
More videos surfaced exposing a rising ‘fight club’ and ‘teacher bashing’ culture at a school in Logan, as a child psychologist shed some light on what might be going on.
Local police stepped up patrols around Flagstone Community College following a fight allegedly involving up to 30 students on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, during school pick-up.
“At least five children in Year 9 had been expelled and at least one teacher physically and verbally assaulted,” a parent said of the brawl.
Police confirmed at the time they would continue patrolling near the school while fights like this continued to break out.
According to QUT Professor Marilyn Campbell, a child psychologist and researcher, students fighting each other is not a new concept.
“What we are actually seeing is an increase in abusive and violent behaviour from parents to schools. What happens in society is reflected in schools and kids model themselves on adults,” she said.
JULY 28, 2022
An Ipswich primary school offered support to parents after police and paramedics were called to the facility following an allegedly violent incident.
Police received initial reports of an incident involving a knife at Sacred Heart Primary School, Booval, about 10.45am.
Sacred Heart School principal Chris Thomas sent a statement to parents to say the entire school went into emergency lockdown.
“This lockdown occurred in response to a student wellbeing matter and was quickly enacted by staff at the school,” Mr Thomas said.
“Support was provided to ensure appropriate measures were taken to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of students.
“It has been determined that there is no further need for concern at the school as a result of this incident.”
A police spokeswoman confirmed there had been a “dispute” between two students.
Paramedics were at Bremer State High School the next day following an alleged fight breaking out.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
Ipswich police launched an investigation after confronting videos of secret fight club brawls between Ipswich school students emerged online.
The shocking footage of vicious school student brawls depicts both young men and women being beaten in public and on school grounds by fellow students, and are being shared via dedicated fight club social media accounts.
Included among the fighting children are Rosewood State High School students, who appear on multiple social media accounts highlighting the orchestrated violence.
According to police data, during the past six months police officers were called to the school at least 10 times for acts of violence.
A police spokeswoman said officers took all matters of assault extremely seriously.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2022
Videos of alleged fights between students and teenagers in public places emerged on Instagram pages glorifying violence.
Several pages under different monikers around the theme “Sunny Coast fights” and “Sunshine Coast fights” reveal an alleged culture of fighting in schools and bus stops.
In the videos, students in their teens were filmed allegedly attacking each other in front of a crowd of onlookers.
The footage has been posted since the start of 2022, with the alleged brawls taking place in front of other schoolchildren and at the Sunshine Plaza bus stop in Maroochydore.
OCTOBER 4, 2022
Parents were warned of an underground “fight club” culture that infiltrated into Queensland schools with students using social media to promote violence to gain notoriety.
Confronting footage of male and female students involved in public and on-campus brawls with fellow students emerged on TikTok and Instagram.
Some of the videos included students wearing state school uniforms while other brawls involving young people were filmed at prominent shopping centres and bus stops.
While student fights are nothing new, it’s the acts of violence shared onto social media with tech-savvy hashtags that sparked a new trend.
Videos of state school students from the Sunshine Coast, Logan, Ipswich and Kingaroy went viral on social media.
Students at Rosewood State High School were filmed allegedly fighting in a toilet block surrounded by at least 10 others egging on the violence during term 3.
Social media pages on TikTok and Instagram themed around “Sunny Coast fights” and “Sunshine Coast fights” also emerged.
It led to calls for a ban on mobile phones in schools.
OCTOBER 22, 2022
Police were investigating after a series of brutal fights at a North Queensland high school were caught on camera and distributed online.
A student at Sarina State High School told News.com.au he’d captured footage of 12 fights in the past year alone.
“There are at least six to seven fights a term, and these are just the ones that have been recorded,” he said.
“Fights at school are such a common occurrence that there will be flocks of students surrounding the incident.”
A Queensland Police Service spokesman said officers “were also aware of the fights and were accordingly working with the school to investigate and identify those involved”.
OCTOBER 31, 2022
Disturbing social media videos of students from Queensland’s most popular high school, including a flare-wielding student hooning through a public park crowd on a motorbike, sparked claims inappropriate behaviour had spiralled out of control.
Brisbane State High School students were caught on camera engaging in a number of distressing acts, with parents calling for tougher punishments and mobile phones to be banned, amid allegations a culture of online bullying has been allowed to flourish.
With more than 3417 students, BSHS is the largest in the city, with the school consistently rivalling $30,000 per year elite private schools in academic results and is the only public school invited to take part in the illustrious GPS sporting competition.
But there have been a number of alarming social media posts including one video which shows a laughing girl with a chain around her neck, being dragged along like a dog by a male peer.
NOVEMBER 15, 2022
A violent altercation between two teenagers erupted outside a family medical practice with one threatening to slice the other’s throat.
Footage shared with this publication shows a female teenager, alleged to be a former student of Sarina State High School, confronting another female, alleged to be a current student, outside of Sarina Family Practice south of Mackay.
“Come here, I need to talk to you dog,” the alleged ex-student is heard saying to the other girl who is accompanied by a male adult.
“So I’ve had a phone call from my cousin saying that you’re picking on her.”
The other teen replies she hasn’t spoken to the referenced person “since the start of the year”, an answer that did not go over well with a tirade of incoming abuse.
“It was straight after I left wasn’t it, ‘cause I texted you?” the alleged ex-student retorts as she clenches her fists.
A Queensland Police Service spokesman said at the time no report was made of the incident.
JUNE 15, 2023
It was reported in June that Queensland state school students as young as five were being kicked out of school for classroom violence against peers and teachers, part of hundreds of disciplinary actions enforced per day.
State government data revealed there were 78,026 school disciplinary absences (SDAs) handed out in 2022, a decrease of about 5000 compared to 2021.
There were nearly 8000 absences for drug-related incidents, largely due to vaping, while hundreds of students were disciplined for bringing weapons to school.
Several state schools on the Sunshine Coast, Logan, Ipswich and Kingaroy in 2022 were also gripped by a “fight club” culture, all promoted on social media.
The overall drop in numbers followed a push from the Department of Education to address the issue of high SDA rates among the state’s youngest students.
If you’re a young person suffering from bullying or this video has affected you in any way, call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.
If you’re an adult and this video has raised issues for you, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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