Bacchus Marsh Grammar students home after Singapore arrests on school trip

Singapore police won’t pursue further action against a group of Bacchus Marsh Grammar schoolgirls accused of stealing lingerie and shoes on a school trip.

Singapore police will not pursue further action against the Bacchus Marsh Grammar schoolgirls accused of stealing lingerie and shoes on a school trip.

All eighteen schoolgirls are home safely in Victoria after leaving Singapore at 12.30am Melbourne time on Saturday.

Five of the girls were questioned by police after being accused of stealing while in the country to play netball tournaments.

The netball matches proceeded while the girls were in the care of staff who supported them through the police interview process, which took several days.

Principal Andrew Neal said the girls were “home on time”.

“Everyone is here and they all came in on the same flight,” he said.

“All matters have been resolved and the girls were allowed to proceed to the airport with no further action,”

“It was a bit delicate but this is a good outcome.”

Bacchus Marsh Grammar Principal Andrew Neal.

The school’s Elite Netball Sports Camp program has been running in Singapore for 11 years.

It was billed by the school as offering “a cultural experience in Asia” as well as “competition in a foreign country” and “education on travel and being an elite athlete”.

The girls were hosted by the Singapore Sports School and were taking part in the annual International Youth Netball Challenge.

Seven students were initially questioned by police but only five were arrested and spent time at the police station.

One source close to the school said the students “got back to their hotel at 3.30am after spending over ten hours in cells”.

The source said they were “OK”.

“They have been back and forth from the police station and their accommodation,” the source said.

“The girls are all very, very sad. They are shattered, including those who have attended the trip but weren’t involved in the incident”.

Mr Neal said the school was still trying to get to the bottom of what happened. However, it’s understood he mentioned the matter at a school assembly.

“A group of students were in Singapore on a netball tour,” he told the Herald Sun

“We are not aware of what exactly has taken place. We are still unclear about the nature of the issue,” he said.

He said he would not make a full public statement until he “got to the nature of the problem”.

“We want to make sure we get the best interests of the kids served,” he said.

Bacchus Marsh Grammar is a co-educational private school with more than 3000 students.

Year 12 students pay more than $13,000 a year in fees.