Waverley College principal releases statement after boys expelled in hazing scandal
A mum has claimed retaliation sparked a brutal hazing of a group of Year 7 boys at a Sydney school, amid claims they were beaten with belts, made to bark like dogs and lick shoes.
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A concerned mum whose son attends a prestigious Sydney private school that has become embroiled in a hazing scandal has hit back at allegations that only one group of boys was in the wrong.
On Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph revealed six Waverley College students were expelled over the violent hazing of a group of Year 7 boys amid claims from parents they were beaten with belts, locked in fire hydrant cupboards and made to bark like dogs and lick the shoes of other students.
On Thursday morning, a woman named Kate, who claimed to be a parent of a Year 9 student at the college, said “there’s two sides to the story”.
“I just wanted to make a point that there’s two sides to the story. There is a bit of a history there,” she told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
“There are Year 7s that have been tormenting and carrying on at the Year 9s and this was a little bit of a retaliation.”
Despite agreeing that the hazing incident “doesn’t (pass the pub test)”, the concerned mum said she believed the reporting wasn’t balanced.
“It doesn’t (pass the pub test), but I do think when you report on something you need to be … not one sided,” she said.
“You’re making up as the Year 7s … were sitting and suddenly launched upon (by) the Year 9s.
In a statement, Graham Leddie, the principal of the all-boys school, said the Year 9s “responded completely disproportionately” to the younger students.
“What took place was unacceptable on every level,” he said.
“Some Year 7 students provoked some Year 9s by throwing some fruit and water at them during lunchtime.
“The Year 9s responded completely disproportionately to students who were two years younger than they were and it got out of hand.
“Most of the students that were attacked had nothing to do with provoking the Year 9s and were innocent victims.
“What started as some silly behaviour turned into assault and humiliation-type behaviours.”
As a result of the incident, six students have had their enrolment cancelled and the school maintains it took “appropriate and direct action”.
Premier Dominic Perrottet responded to the disturbing reports by saying parents needed to set the right example for children.
“I’ve made some changes as you’d be aware in terms of education policy in this state … really ramping up support for mental health in classrooms and behaviour specialists,” he said.
“We can’t have an education environment where people are misbehaving and bullying.
“We need to have greater respect and tolerance for each other … we can hardly expect our children to be on their best behaviour when we’re seeing adults behaving (badly online).”
STUDENTS EXPELLED AFTER VIOLENT HAZING
Six Waverley College students have been expelled over the violent hazing of a group of Year 7 boys amid claims from parents they were beaten with belts, locked in fire hydrant cupboards and made to bark like dogs and lick the shoes of other students.
Shocked school parents have spoken out about the attacks which happened over three days in October this year when the youngsters at the $20,000 a year all-boys Catholic school were dragged by a group of Year 9 students into a classroom which didn’t have CCTV cameras.
They were then made to say phrases like “I’m your b***h’’, while another had a swastika drawn on his wrist.
Waverley College principal Graham Leddie moved quickly to investigate the incident after he was made aware by the parents of the Year 7 boys involved, before ultimately expelling the six Year 9 boys.
However, sources said the families of a number of the boys are disputing the allegations and have sought legal advice over their expulsions.
In a statement to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Leddie said the school had spoken to NSW Police about the incident and had been told they had handled the situation “appropriately”.
“In late October, Waverley College became aware of a potential issue involving some Year 9 and Year 7 students,” Mr Leddie said.
“The next morning it started gathering information and speaking to students individually. Any students who were considered to be participants in wrongful behaviour were put on a suspension while the investigation continued.
“By the following school day, a list of students involved had been identified and the parents of those students requested to join their sons in meetings with the Principal.
“The result of those meetings was the cancellation of enrolment for those who actively participated in bullying behaviour.”
One parent of an expelled student requested an appeal, but a school review found they had managed their dismissal properly.
Psychologist sessions were made available for those involved, while Mr Leddie also spoke to students in Year 7 and Year 9.
“The College moved quickly and sent a clear message that whether we treat someone with respect or disrespect – there will always be a corresponding outcome that they are responsible for,” he said.
“The choice is up to each person to determine what outcome they want their actions to have, and they must live with the consequences of that.”
It is believed there may be as many as 16 boys in Year 7 subject to the behaviour, some of whom have still not told their parents what they went through.
The mother of one of the Year 7 boys said her son initially denied any knowledge of the incident, before speaking up about what he went through.
“It was weeks after it happened and we found out not because our son told us but because another mum called us and told us about the incident and said that our son had been pulled into the room,” the mother said.
“That’s when we started questioning our son.
“His initial reaction was total denial. It took a decent 24-48 hours to get what we understand is now the truth out of him.
“Some of the boys were locked in a fire hydrant cupboard for an hour. My son was made to bark like a dog. A lot of them were videoed having to say humiliating things.”
A number of the parents of the Year 7 boys are since believed to have removed their sons from the school.
Some parents said they were disappointed the incident had not been brought to the attention of the whole school, but Mr Leddie said that decision was made so as to “not draw further attention to the students involved”.
One mother whose son was beaten went to Waverley Police Station to discuss the matter, but has since informed police she is happy with the way things have been handled and didn’t want her son to make a statement.
“They definitely did everything they could under the circumstances, I don’t know what you can do really,” the mother said.
“I just don’t know what goes on in those kids heads?
“I think it’s a systemic problem with all the private schools, it’s not just a Waverley College problem.
“Although it’s terrible, I’m more relieved he’s one of the Year 7 boys than the Year 9 boys.”
Some of the boys were left with severe welts and bruises all over their back.
Another Year 7 boy started wearing only his sports uniform, hoping he wouldn’t be targeted because he didn’t have a belt.
“When we were finally made aware of what happened we spent an hour in the Principal’s office, who told us he has never seen anything like this in his eight years at the school,” a father of one of the Year 7 boys said.
The parent said they were told there was nothing anti-Semitic about the Swastika being drawn on the boy because the perpetrators did it so he would get in trouble for drawing it on himself.
“That just didn’t make sense … they also said they had reached out to the Jewish community and assured them the behaviour was not racial.
“As we were leaving he also made a comment how it would be terrible if this became public because it really was a good school,” he said.
“This isn’t something to be kept secret, it should be talked about so that we prevent it happening again. The whole culture of cover up is terrible.”
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