St Paul’s School allegedly runs ‘what is privilege’ activity

A former student at an elite North Brisbane private school claims she was subjected to bullying for years about her body and family’s financial status after she was made to disclose it to her peers.

St Paul's School allegedly ran an activity asking students to disclose their financial status to their peers. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

A former St Paul’s School student claims she was segregated from her peers after her teachers ran an activity that encouraged students to disclose their financial status to their peers last year.

Sarah*, now 16, asked to remain anonymous to protect her identity from former classmates who continue to harass her almost one year after leaving the school.

Despite being the target of relentless bullying campaigns for years, Sarah said the final straw was when a teacher encouraged the students to play a game to learn how “privileged” some students were compared to their peers.

“They asked questions like take a step back if your parents have had financial struggles, take a step back if you’ve struggled with mental health or body image,” she said.

“I stepped back when they asked about whether my parents struggled to afford groceries in the last week. The first comment (from students) was that my parents probably had no money for groceries because I ate them all, and they asked what I was doing in the school if I couldn’t afford groceries.”

Sarah approached faculty staff how the activity made her feel, and they proceeded to tell her that there was nothing they could do about it.

The following day, Sarah’s mum, Jackie*, emailed the school asking for a copy of the questions that were asked of the students during the activity.

In response, a faculty staff member said they would follow up on her query. Jackie never heard back.

Redacted conversations between Sarah and Jackie reveal a pattern of targeted bullying against her. Picture: Supplied

It was this activity, and a multitude of other incidents, that led to Sarah attempting to take her own life last year.

Jackie enrolled Sarah at St Paul’s in 2017 when Sarah was just nine years old.

By 2021, Sarah was the recipient of a targeted bullying campaign, culminating in the creation of group chats on Instagram and Snapchat dedicated to making fun of her.

One year later, her classmates started rumours that Sarah had been starving herself to attempt to lose weight.

“They took photographs of me walking to fat shame me. They weaponised their phones to make fun of me,” she said.

Sarah was forced to change her phone number by 2023 after her classmates started to prank call her and make inappropriate comments about her weight.

“The first day of school holidays, I got a phone call and I just burst into tears,” she said.

“They signed my school email up to fat camps, weight loss camps and gyms. I just came home from school bawling my eyes out.”

She had multiple admissions to the psychiatric ward and self-harmed to cope with what she was facing at school.

“One time I self-harmed at school. I cut myself to a bad extent and had to change dresses. I got sat in a room unsupervised. I was there for the rest of the day as my parents couldn’t pick me up,” she said.

“I really couldn’t escape it. It started in the morning until I got home. I was on my phone and I couldn’t get away.”

Sarah felt as if her pleas for help were ignored. Picture: Supplied

Sarah described the art room as her safe place during lunch, but during the summer it was one of the few open buildings with an air conditioner available.

“I had to see them or sit in the heat alone. I couldn’t go anywhere,” she said.

Prior to the school’s sports carnival, students were told they could decide on what activities they could participate in. Sarah was away that day and her classmates put her name down to compete in races.

“Someone signed me up for 1500, 800 and other races. There’s a rumour circulating to get their phones out when the fat girl runs. Not even been here for an hour,” she said in a text message to her mum.

Both Jackie and Sarah continued to email faculty members in an attempt to reduce the bullying.

Sarah said her mental health was in pieces after leaving the school. Picture: Supplied

“The bullying has escalated. She got a text to her phone calling her a fat monkey with a meme photo. She got a direct phone call the other Saturday night saying things like ‘you have more rolls than a bakery, you’re so fat your stomach touches your thighs, as you can imagine she was deeply affected. Unfortunately, she won’t go to QPS. I can’t help but feel a little terrified for what may happen,” Jackie wrote in a text message to the school late last year.

The bullying got so bad that Sarah was asking to come home early almost every day.

“I’m in so much pain. I feel so sick and miserable. I keep crying,” Sarah wrote in a text message to her mum.

“I feel like a very tiny, overwhelmed small speck in a world full of major complex and too complicated things. Coping through without self-harm is so hard.

“Sometimes it feels so hard to get up, and you know how miserable school makes me.”

Earlier this year, Sarah enrolled at a college in Brisbane’s south admitted she has not self-harmed in the past seven months.

“It takes two-and-a-half hours to get there, but it’s so much better than the 15-minute bus ride to St Paul’s,” she said.

“What’s a couple of hours if it means better mental health.

“None of my grades have dropped, my attendance has improved and there is a sense of equality.”

Her former classmates continue to attempt to follow her on social media. Sarah still cannot comprehend how they acted toward her.

“I’m an empathetic person. Making someone else feel that way is so soul crushing yet people do it on a daily basis because it’s fun and amusing,” she said.

John O’Sullivan Williams said a whole-school review was conducted last year. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

In a statement provided to The Courier-Mail, principal John O’Sullivan Williams said while they cannot comment on individual students, incidents of bullying are taken very seriously.

“Our school works with students, teachers, and families to ensure student safety and wellbeing. We adhere to protection policies and procedures as outlined by the Anglican Schools Commission,” he said.

“Following changes to leadership in late 2023, we conducted a whole-school review, surveying students and parents. Following the review, we bolstered our dedicated Counselling Services and Health Centre and appointed a Director of Wellbeing to ensure student wellbeing remains front of mind for all. We employed two nurses, a psychologist, a social worker and doubled the number of Student Protection Officers.

“We banned mobile phone access during class time and now host educational sessions for parents and caregivers on online safety, in collaboration with external professionals and experts. All support services have been communicated to the school community and are readily available through various channels. We will always work towards initiatives that protect the wellbeing of our students.”

Lifeline: 13 11 14, lifeline.org.au

SANE Support line and Forums: 1800 187 263, saneforums.org

Headspace: 1800 650 890, headspace.org.au

Beyond Blue: 1300 224 635, beyondblue.org.au