Police investigate vile posts and assaults at elite Sydney private school

A shock barrage of messages sent to a student at an elite Sydney private school cast a light on the extent of issues it is facing, as its principal vowed to take action in a letter to parents

Claims of cyber-bullying at one of Sydney’s most prestigious schools are now the subject of a police investigation amid claims the school did not take adequate action to stop it.

A student, who attends The Scots College at Bellevue Hill, has allegedly been subjected to schoolyard bullying and vile online messages on Instagram, screenshots of which have been supplied to The Daily Telegraph.

One read: “How are u stupid little fat f...”. Another said: “Does life suck with no mates.”

The boy’s mother said his younger brother was also targeted last year on handwritten notes and messages on a gaming platform.

It became so bad his mother withdrew the younger boy from the school, which has fees of about $46,000 a year for senior students.

“Scots did nothing to stem the bullying of my younger son and now his brother, despite my informing and providing them with physical evidence,” the boys’ mother said.

“It’s causing enormous distress to him and to be honest he is not in a great place, which is so concerning.”

Some of the horrific comments

Scots College in Bellevue Hill

Frustrated with what she saw as inaction from the school, the mother reported the matter to Waverley police station on November 27 and this week spoke to a NSW Police youth liaison officer from Rose Bay Police Station.

“She told me she had spoken with a representative of Scots. I know incidents happen with teenage boys but Scots have not supported my son,’’ the mother claimed of the school.

The boy twice attended Waverley police station on June 6 and November 18 and reported being physically assaulted. NSW Police confirmed officers had received reports of the allegations.

General view of The Scots College in Bellevue Hill. Picture: Rohan Kelly.

When contacted by The Daily Telegraph, Scots College refused to address any of the issues raised by the mother or the police investigation.

“It’s not appropriate for the College to offer any comment on this matter as it involves children and we cannot compromise their privacy,” the school said in a statement.

However, principal Dr Ian Lambert later issued an email to all parents in which he acknowledged “examples of verbal and physical intimidation, exclusion, racial taunts, name calling and ridicule persist, and it is making school a very unhappy place for some boys”.

The email did not reveal there was a current police investigation into bullying at the school but conceded the problem spanned all year levels.

It presented a seven-point plan to combat the problem including a portal to report any bullying and also a survey asking students for feedback .

It comes amid a Telegraph campaign calling for a bullying crackdown in NSW schools after the deaths of Charlotte O’Brien and other children.

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Originally published as Police investigate vile posts and assaults at elite Sydney private school