‘I was ambushed’: Scots College student speaks out after alleged assault by fellow students in ‘human tunnel’
The teen at the centre of a cruel “human tunnel” at an elite Sydney school has broken his silence, explaining the sad reason he went along.
The teenager at the centre of an alleged assault by fellow students at an elite school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has spoken out about his “terrifying” ordeal.
Footage shared on Snapchat showed the 17-year-old boy walking through a “human tunnel” while being pushed, slapped, drenched in beer and verbally abused.
Police are investigating the incident which unfolded in bushes near Woollahra Golf Club on Saturday afternoon and allegedly involved a group of boys from Scots College.
“When I was invited to a Snapchat group and a school gathering over the weekend, I thought I was finally being included,” the boy said in a letter sent to 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Wednesday.
“One kid even told me I had to go or I’d be kicked out of a program that I was part of. But that inclusion was a trap.
“I was ambushed, physically restrained, and humiliated. The most terrifying part was how I was lured there, thinking I was going to have some fun and finally have some friends at school.”
The boy added he’d also received “awful messages online” which had made him feel alone and attacked.
“I’m honestly surprised that it hasn’t led to more tragedies. Students feel alone, unsafe and unheard,” he wrote.
“My message to anyone in a similar situation is simple: speak up, before it’s too late.”
Four teenagers have reportedly attended Bondi Police Station in the wake of the incident.
One resident claimed the boys had trampled plants in the area where they gathered and left it strewn with rubbish, while the noise had made neighbours frightened and upset.
School hits out at parents
In the wake of the incident, Scots College has criticised parents for allowing their children to drink unsupervised.
“These boys were under the supervision of their parents, and I question why they were permitted to gather in such a way with large amounts of alcohol present and being consumed by boys under the age of 18,” the school’s principal, Dr Ian Lambert, said in a letter sent to teachers and read out by Fordham.
Dr Lambert has also warned there will be consequences, including potential expulsion, for schoolboys involved in the alleged assault.
“The college has commenced its own internal investigation and is reviewing all available footage and information,” he said in a statement to news.com.au.
“Consequences will follow for the students involved, consistent with college expectations and policies, and possible outcomes include expulsion.
“Representative opportunities in sport, leadership, and co-curricular programs for those involved will also be reviewed.”
Dr Lambert described the behaviour as “completely unacceptable” and said he was “disappointed and disgusted”, adding that the incident occurring off campus and outside school hours did not “lessen its seriousness”.
Boy left ‘shaken’, mum says
It comes after the mother of the alleged victim said he’d been left “shaken” and bruised after the alleged attack.
“He’s obviously shaken, but I don’t even know what to say,” the mum, known as Trish, told 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Monday.
“When you get a phone call when you’re at work, (and) it’s your son screaming and telling you what had happened, to be honest I couldn’t believe it.”
She said her son was “chased by a number of boys” as he tried to get away from the park.
“A lady who was a guardian angel took him to her house and he waited there until police arrived,” she said.
Asked about the event, Trish said it was a “tradition” among senior boys at the school.
“From what I have researched it was called, ‘Bob 2025,’ it seems to be some type of a tradition with year 10 to 12 boys - they do it twice a year, it’s like a coming of age,” she said.
She said her son was “only given the address on the morning of the event, he got there late because he was coming from work”.
“He was lured there and he was pressured into going. They told him there was an expectation for him to be there, he needed to be there to offer support.
“When he got there he was set upon by this group. They handed him a flag and they ridiculed him, poured beer over him, his hair, pulled his shirt.”
Trish said there were “bruises all over him” and the boys had “just absolutely humiliated him, laughing and taunting him, calling him disgusting names”.
Scots, founded in 1893, charged tuition fees of up to $46,000 per student in 2024.
Originally published as ‘I was ambushed’: Scots College student speaks out after alleged assault by fellow students in ‘human tunnel’
