Former St Kevin’s teacher Gary Jones who left school abruptly providing online tutoring

A teacher who abruptly left St Kevin’s College is offering online tutoring to students at the school and another elite girls’ college.

A teacher who abruptly left St Kevin’s College in 2020 is continuing to offer online tutoring to students at the school and another elite girls’ college, the Herald Sun can reveal.

St Kevin’s former director of students, Gary Jones, was one of five senior teachers to leave the school under a cloud in February 2020.

Mr Jones, who is now living in Mexico and is no longer a registered teacher in Victoria, has been offering online tutoring to students at St Kevin’s College and Loreto Mandeville Hall.

In 2020 St Kevin’s College acting principal John Crowley “concluded” the employment of Mr Jones, along with drama and maths teacher Simon Parris and dean of sports Luke Travers.

Mr Crowley did not give any reasons for the employment of Mr Jones ending.

This was less than a week after the school was subjected to child-grooming allegations that led to the sudden resignation of its principal Stephen Russell and deputy Janet Canny.

Former St Kevin's College principal John Crowley “concluded” the employment of a number of teachers. Picture: Nine News.

Mr Russell resigned after it was revealed he wrote a character reference for a school’s athletic coach after he was convicted of grooming a student. He said his resignation was for the wellbeing of the school and students.

Ms Canny was also asked to step down from her duties by the head of the school’s then governing body pending an investigation into the allegations of her handling of a staff member’s complaint.

At the time Mr Jones was a leading VCE English teacher and widely acclaimed as the “best teacher in Australia for his 24/7 approach to his job”.

In 2019, the year before Mr Jones left abruptly at the start of term one, eight year 12 students at the up-market Toorak boys’ school received a perfect 50 score and around half received a study score of 40 or higher.

One parent said Mr Jones regularly held “ad hoc invitation-only study groups” that were very popular.

“It’s really disappointing because he’s a magnificent educator,” one parent of three boys told the Sunday Herald Sun.

St Kevin’s was rocked by a grooming scandal in 2020. Picture: Erik Anderson

Mr Jones was known to be very good friends with former students and would regularly socialise with them.

It’s understood concerns about this were raised with school leaders.

Teachers are not permitted to have relationships with former students for at least two years after they finish school.

Mr Parris sought reinstatement from St Kevin’s College in 2021 and in a Fair Work Commission hearing admitted to initiating hugs of students, sending a tweet about wet dreams and storing “hard core gay pornography” on his school computer.

A spokesman for St Kevin’s College said that “while we do not comment on any individual matter, the college is confident in the policies and processes in place for any concern that may arise.

“St Kevin’s provides a large tutoring program, employing outstanding recent graduates. Tutoring arrangements outside of this program is a family decision and not related to the College. Child Safety continues to be our highest priority,” the spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for Loreto Mandeville Hall said the choice of external tutors was “something parents may do privately and as such we are not aware of their arrangements”.