Stressed teachers ‘quit’ in front of students at Ballarat Clarendon College, former pupils say

Teachers at a top private school “quit” in front of students due to the pressure of high results from management, former students have said.

Stressed out teachers at an elite college cried to students about their workload, former pupils of the school have said.

An exclusive report by the Herald Sunrevealed whistleblowers had made allegations of bullying and harassment by senior staff at Ballarat Clarendon College, with teachers so exhausted paramedics were often called.

Principal David Shepherd — who was named in multiple allegations — has called them “upsetting and untrue” in a statement to parents released Wednesday morning.

But one former student said she had “witnessed teachers storm out and quit because of the awful conditions” while another said the school was “fiercely protective of their high achieving academic results”.

Senior staff would “ask students who were likely to get a low ATAR score to not sit the exams — knowing that this would bring down the average results of the group”, the student said.

Ballarat Clarendon College principal David Shepherd has denied all allegations of bullying and harassment.

“Telling a student they are not smart enough to sit an exam, in such a vulnerable stage of like, is disgusting and appalling for a school who is meant to nurture students.”

A female student made the same claim separately, adding: “(The) need to be the best drove staff and students to breaking point.”

The Herald Sun is not suggesting any of the allegations against Mr Shepherd or other senior staff are true, only that they have been made and are being investigated.

Another woman said she was “pressured” not to sit Year 12 exams as she was “struggling with depression, due in part to the enormous pressures placed on me by the school”.

“When I attended Ballarat Clarendon College, many students who were deemed ‘non-academic achievers’ were asked to not sit their Year 12 enter score exams, so that they wouldn’t impact the school’s overall performance,” she said.

“I had no support whatsoever from the school that I had attended since Year 5. I was not the only one.”

Meanwhile a man who attended the college from kindergarten to Year 10 said he was “currently in EMDR therapy for complex trauma due in no small part to my experiences there”.

Yet another former student claimed to have been treated “more as our potential ATAR scores rather than human beings”.

“In the boarding house, many of the girls did not receive necessary support from the otherwise indifferent and often dismissive tutors of the boarding house, with several of my closest friends experiencing extreme mental health conditions (anxiety, suicidal tendencies, eating disorders to name a few).”

She said her parents experienced “bullying, shaming and a myriad of regret for sending us there”.

Ballarat Clarendon College ranked among the state’s top four performers in VCE last year.

Many current parents at the school declined to comment on the record on Wednesday morning.

But one father said he hadn’t seen or heard of any bullying.

“Kids are happy,” he said.

“Kids have never said anything.

“Former teachers, of course they’re going to do that [affirm the allegations]. Probably got an axe to grind — that’s why they’re former teachers.”

Another said: “I know nothing about it, I just drop my kids off. It’s all news to me.”

The school confirmed it had employed an “independent specialist in workplace regulation and safety”, but would not say how long the investigation was expected to go on.

Mr Shepherd, who is set to retire after 27 years with the school at the end of 2023, will remain as principal while the investigation takes place.

The college said the board would determine the next course of action after the internal review and independent investigator presented their findings.

After the Herald Sunpublished the initial story online on Tuesday, Mr Patterson issued a statement to parents of students at the school.

“The Board initiated an internal policy and procedure review based on the information provided by the anonymous complainant,” he wrote.

“In addition, as part of good governance, the Board is seeking legal advice and an independent investigator has been engaged to further investigate several allegations, the findings of which will be reported to the Board.

“The Board will report on the internal policy and procedure review once completed.”