St Kevin’s College students push for annual schoolwide Pride Round

Students at the elite boys’ school want an annual Pride Round for sports teams but they say school leaders are dragging their feet on the issue.

St Kevin’s College students are pushing for an annual schoolwide Pride Round for all sporting teams, but the school has confirmed it “is unlikely to occur in 2023”.

Talks have been underway between school leaders and senior boys for at least two years, but no agreement has been reached so far.

A source told the Herald Sun students were told by one teacher that “It would just be us copying other schools”.

“The students responded ‘no it would be us catching up to other schools’.

“So we now have both gay teachers and students who do not feel that SKC is a safe place for them,” they said.

St Kevin’s College students are pushing for an annual schoolwide Pride Round for all sporting teams. Picture: Daniel Pockett

The move comes as a group of St Kevin’s College students have been posting clips filmed of them on school grounds dancing and posing in school uniform in the name of #pride and #gay and #prettyprivilege.

One 2022 TikTok post entitled “divas in the hallway” has been viewed nearly half a million times and celebrates the “yassification” of the school. Yassification is a slang term referring to “making something better, making it queer”.

A number of students and staff at the school celebrated Wear it Purple day last August in support of sexually and gender diverse youth.

However, it’s understood some students were asked to remove material advertising the event after another student complained.

In another recent incident at the elite Toorak Catholic boys’ school, a senior tutor refused to allow students to hang a Pride flag and a Ukranian flag in a tutorial room.

“When push comes to shove, we do not really support inclusivity and diversity,” the source said.

There have been Pride Round talks between school leaders and students for the past two years. Picture: AAP

A spokesman for St Kevin’s College said it was a “community committed to the inclusion and dignity of all” and celebrated the anniversary of the war in Ukraine, International Women’s Day, Reconciliation Day and Wear It Purple Day.

“These are some examples as we continue to look for avenues to affirm our students and work within our community. A Pride Round for sport has been raised and is under consideration but is unlikely to occur in 2023,” the spokesman said.

Pride Rounds are common in many private schools such as Carey Baptist Grammar School, which has held one for the past seven years.

“Pride games are celebratory in nature and a community development strategy which seeks to build trust, and to welcome and invite LGBTIQ+ communities into sporting spaces,” their website reads.

Boys’ schools Brighton Grammar and Melbourne Grammar also hold pride games.

A cultural review of St Kevin’s College found evidence in 2021 of a continuing toxic and misogynist culture at the school. In the same year a former student burned his blazer to highlight what he saw as the school’s homophobic and sexist culture.