‘Bullied to death’: Victorian schoolboy, 15, takes own life on Australia Day

A Victorian family is in mourning after their 15-year-old son took his life on Australia Day, four days before the start of the school year.

WARNING: Distressing content

A Victorian family is in mourning after their 15-year-old son took his life on Australia Day, four days before the start of the school year.

Jesse Wareham, a student at St Augustine’s College in the central-north town of Kyabram, near Shepparton, was “bullied to death”, a GoFundMe arranged by friend of the family, Irene Wells, alleged.

“I am sad and heartbroken to inform our community and Jas’s clients and Jesse’s school friends that our loved and respected Jasmine/masseur of Kyabram for many years and has lost her beautiful son Jessie 15 years old of Tongala,” the fundraiser read.

“Jesse attended St Augustine’s school in Kyabram in tragic circumstances. Jesse took his own life on Australia Day, 4 days before he was to return to school on Thursday.”

Ms Wells said she empathised with parents who were “not … able to protect them from the deep dark thoughts of suicide and for their precious child to actually take their own life.”

Jesse Wareham, a student at St Augustine’s College in the central-north town of Kyabram, near Shepparton, was 'bullied to death'. Picture: GoFundMe

Ms Wells described Jesse as “beautiful, loving, caring (and) handsome”, adding that he “had so much life … and so much to offer”.

“Another beautiful young life taken by their own hands. Bullying is a death sentence. We all need to be kind of to everyone.”

News.com.au has contacted the family and St Augustine’s College for further comment.

A report published last May by the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) found that teenage Australian students face the second-highest level of bullying of 24 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).

Almost one in six of the 13,430 15-year-old students surveyed reported instances where other students had made fun of them – one of the six metrics bullying was measured across.

One in 10 said they had nasty rumours spread about them, and six per cent reported being physically abused by others.

The ACER research analysed the 2022 OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, which showed that “all (Australian) jurisdictions reported higher levels of bullying than compared to the OECD average”, senior research fellow Lisa de Bortoli said.

The only participating OECD country where students were more greatly exposed to bullying was Latvia, in northeastern Europe.

Of Australia’s states and territories, Tasmania reported the highest level of bullying and lowest of students feeling safe at school.

Teenage Australian students face the second-highest level of bullying of 24 OECD countries, research last year found. Picture: iStock

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare announced in November state and territory leaders would work to establish a national standard for dealing with bullying in schools. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Swift

In November, federal Education Minister Jason Clare called on state and territory leaders to help establish a national standard for dealing with bullying, in the wake of 12-year-old Sydney schoolgirl Charlotte O’Brien’s tragic death in September.

“We’re funding … an expert-led review into what we can do to strengthen procedures within schools and try to stamp out bullying,” Employment Minister Murry Watt told reporters when announcing the initiative.

“The simple fact is that bullying is not on anywhere, anytime, in any form, and our government is acting just as we’re acting on online bullying.”

The review will assess each jurisdiction’s current anti-bullying procedures, offering recommendations to create a cohesive, national standard.

“Each state and territory does slightly different things and we respect the fact that there are going to be some differences across state borders,” Mr Watt said.

“But I think the Australian public have spoken very clearly that they want to see greater government action and co-operation to stamp out bullying in schools and online.”

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