Lithgow High School: Shock video of student attacks sparks calls for violent teens to be relocated

Shocking footage of violent attacks at a NSW High School has prompted desperate calls from parents to relocate vicious teens from classrooms.

Systemic bullying at a NSW high school has become so bad that teachers and parents are calling on the Education Department to create an offsite learning centre to “relocate violent students”.

Shocking footage from several attacks at Lithgow High School continue to circulate online, as parents desperately call for the NSW Government to intervene to protect students in the classroom.

One video sent to NewsLocal appears to show a female student being pushed to the ground before she is stomped on by another student, as her peers watch on. Additional footage, obtained by NewsLocal, appears to show a teacher intervening in an effort to stop another attack in a classroom.

However, Education Minister Sarah Mitchell has shot down the calls, telling NSW Parliament the school already operates a wellbeing centre that “provides, encourages and supports community wellbeing services” alongside a learning hub that is designed to provide “targeted and intensive support to students with a strong focus on emotional regulation”.

Video footage of a violent attack on a student at Lithgow High School shows a teen girl being stomped on. Footage: Supplied

Video footage shows a student being pushed to the ground. Footage: Supplied

In the last two years, the Lithgow Local Government Area has seen a total of 44 reported incidents of assault on school premises, according to NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics data.

The data comes after One Nation MLC Mark Latham told Parliament a teacher who “had to act as a human shield to protect a student from a violent attack” in a 2021 attack has quit as a result of the incident.

In a statement following questions by Mr Latham, the Minister said senior Education Department officers “followed up with the Principal” following a spate of video recorded acts of violence at the school.

“The school managed the incidents in the videos consistent with the School’s Discipline Policy,” Ms Mitchell said. “Appropriate disciplinary action and wellbeing support was promptly applied. There have been no further incidents reported related to these matters.”

The front gate at Lithgow High School.

But one concerned parent, whose child was repeatedly stomped on in a vicious attack, said the Education Minister had “missed the mark”.

“These incidents are going to continue, despite the school and principal’s best efforts, because the Education Minister won’t support them with a new plan forward,” the concerned mother said.

“The new principal is one of the best we have seen, but he can only do so much.

“These violent students know that they can all but kill one of their victims in the playground and get away with it.”

A Lithgow High School student is stomped on. Footage: Supplied

Parents at the school are pleading for the Education Minister to install an offsite learning hub in order to support violent children address their emotions outside fearful classrooms.

“Country towns are being forgotten and each of these kids will become another incarceration statistic,” the mother said. “My child is a victim of bullying and she is being punished and is petrified because the department won’t provide offsite solutions. 

Video footage of a violent attack on a student at Lithgow High School. Footage: Supplied

“Teachers are having to put their bodies on the line to protect innocent children from attacks — the school needs the ability to take these violent children away from their prey in the classroom. 

The mother of one of the victims praised the new school principal for “tackling this issue head on”.

Mr Latham described the situation as a “reign of terror”, questioning why the NSW Government failed to support calls for an offsite learning centre for violent students.