By Caroline Schelle and Noel Towell
Victoria’s education regulator says it has started inquiries into claims of a “punishment ring” of senior boarding students at a prestigious private school repeatedly assaulting their younger students with straps.
Ten senior boarders have been sent home and local police are investigating assault allegations, some dating back to 2023, at Ballarat Grammar, as concerns mount of a “strapping culture” in at least one of the school’s boarding houses.
The Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) , state’s education and training regulator which also manages the registration and review of independent schools, confirmed on Wednesday that it too was looking into the claims
“The Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) has commenced enquiries in relation to Ballarat Grammar,” the body said in a statement on Wednesday.
Ballarat Grammar is investigating about incidents of a “punishment ring” at a boarding house.Credit: Joe Armao
“All Victorian schools and school boarding premises must meet the minimum standards and other requirements for registration, including the Child Safe Standards,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The authority has the power to impose mandatory conditions, bar a school from enrolling new students and in the most serious cases suspend or cancel a schools’ registration if an institution is found to have failed to uphold child safety standards.
The move comes after The Age revealed last week police were investigating “horrendous” claims about a punishment ring among students at the boarding school.
Ballarat Grammar is co-educational, but two of its five boarding houses are boys-only.
Grammar declined to comment when contacted on Wednesday.
“We believe we have provided all the information we can to The Age as the investigation is still in process,” a spokesperson said.
Most of the alleged victims were in years 8 to 11, but at least one year 7 boy was thought to be among the victims, the principal Adam Heath said last week.
He said most of those victims were in years 8 to 11 but at least one year 7 boy was thought to be among the victims, and school authorities suspect the behaviour might have been even more widespread.
Ballarat Grammar traces its history back to the 19th century, counts the state’s longest-serving premier, Sir Henry Bolte among its alumni, and sets boarding and tuition fees for a year 12 student at more than $49,000.
The VRQA was granted compliance and enforcement powers to ensure premises satisfy minimum safety standards in 2021.
That decision came from a recommendation in the final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that urged state and territory governments to place particular emphasis on monitoring boarding schools to ensure they meet Child Safe Standards.
correction
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Ballarat Grammar’s boarding houses were boys-only.