Stabbings, fight clubs, teacher death: Queensland school horror headlines of 2023
Queensland schools have faced brawls, fight clubs and ‘toxic’ bullying. See the schools involved in the most shocking Qld school stories of 2023. GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING
Rockhampton
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Queensland schools have been a major topic of discussion for 2023.
Vaping in classrooms, toxic bullying and emerging violent behaviour are just some of the concerning trends that have been come from Queensland’s education institutions this year.
And the latest state government data has revealed state school students as young as five are being kicked out of school for violent behaviour.
While there was a decrease in school disciplinary absences (SDAs) handed out from 2021 to 2022, many Queensland schools have become embroiled in a culture of ‘fight club’ where students fight one another with the purpose of posting it on social media.
Data shows that the students being disciplined are mainly in the 13 to 16-year-old category, with 52 per cent of total SDAs handed out given to those in years seven to nine.
From vaping, stabbings, fighting and social media – these are the news headlines that rocked Queensland schools in 2023.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
EAST BRISBANE: Knife pulled over lollies
A 14-year-old Anglican Church Grammar School student was filmed in February of this year, brandishing a knife over an argument believed to have been about a bag of lollies.
In the video, the Churchie student is heard saying “Where did you put my s---? You took all the lollies from my bag. Why did you eat it all?” to another student in the school bathrooms on Saturday, February 18.
Churchie headmaster Dr Alan Campbell said no student was injured during the incident and that “there is never any justification for bringing a knife into a school environment”.
“Ultimately, we are committed to providing an environment in which young people are cared for, feel supported, and have a right to feel safe,” Dr Campbell said.
“This incident reminds us that the young people in our care, more than ever, require us to be ever vigilant and sensitive while providing clear boundaries and high standards in the behaviour we expect.”
A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said a 14-year-old boy had been dealt with under the provision of the Youth Justice Act following an incident at an East Brisbane school on February 18.
Annual school fees at Anglican Church Grammar School are more than $27,000.
ROCKHAMPTON: Students suspended over mass vaping
A large number of students at a Catholic school in Rockhampton were suspended in March of this year after footage emerged of 30 of its male students vaping in a school toilet block.
The two-minute video showed the Emmanaus College students in the ‘L Block bathrooms’, sitting and standing in the hazy vape smoke, some heard mocking the school motto “light my way”.
The video begins with a narrated voice stating “This is Emmaus College Rockhampton, although it may seem like a normal, nice Catholic school from the outside, there‘s something completely unheard of going on the inside”.
Following the incident, Emmaus College Principal Eamon Hannan confirmed the video involved students from the school and said he was having conversations with the families involved while the matter was investigated.
“Whilst the investigation is still ongoing, I have taken the decision to suspend the students involved for varying lengths of time pending the results of the investigation,” said Mr Hannan in a letter to Emmaus College families.
“This decision was not taken lightly but reflects my commitment and the commitment of the college’s leadership team to always maintain the safety and wellbeing of our staff and students as our highest priority.”
The vaping video emerged just a few days after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a parliamentary inquiry into vaping which revealed in August that about one in four 12 to 17-year-olds in Queensland have tried e-cigarettes.
Research commissioned as part of the parliamentary inquiry also found that 10 per cent of young people claimed to vape daily, with more children being referred to Queensland Children’s Hospital due to vape-related mental health concerns including nicotine dependence and withdrawal.
Following the inquiry, a Department of Education spokesman told the Courier Mail that “work has commenced to develop guidelines for schools” about how to respond to students with a dependence on e-cigarettes and vaping.
CHARTERS TOWERS: Student allegedly ‘choked out’ in fight
An increasing amount of fighting was reported in Charters Towers in March of this year, with videos emerging of fights on school grounds and students cheering on the assaults.
On March 24, a teenager was hospitalised after an alleged assault at Charters Towers State High School took place where a teenage boy allegedly lost consciousness after he was choked and fell, hitting the back of his head.
A Department of Education spokesman said that “emergency services were contacted by the school as a precaution” and the school “continues to work diligently to promote safe and respectful interactions between students”.
Videos of fights viewed by the Townsville Bulletin were mainly between Charters Towers State High School students, with one fight filmed at Columba Catholic College showing more than 20 kids watch two boys punch each other.
The Department of Education spokesman said that they were aware of “a number of unacceptable videos” being shared online involved Charters Towers students and that the “Department’s Cyber Safety team is working to have the videos removed”.
CAIRNS: ‘Horrific’ stabbing at Peace Lutheran College
18-year-old Marc Rajan Taylor is currently remanded in custody and facing an attempted murder charge over the alleged stabbing of classmate 18-year-old Melody Neal on Peace Lutheran College school grounds on May 16.
Police allege Taylor walked up to Ms Neal during a school break at the Kamerunga school and stabbed her with a knife multiple times before being restrained by staff and students.
Ms Neal was transferred to Townsville Hospital in an induced coma and in critical condition where she underwent multiple surgeries, had half her liver removed and was on dialysis for several weeks.
Detective Acting Inspector Jason Chetham called the alleged event “horrific”.
Ms Neal’s parents said that they were “awe-struck by the humbling care and humanity that poured our way from the Peace Lutheran Community” during Ms Neal’s recovery.
Mr Taylor, from Caravonica, will be remanded in custody until February 2024 as he awaits a mental health assessment.
GOLD COAST: Teachers caught in ‘compromising position’
Two teachers at Aquinas College in Southport were stood down and an investigation was launched after students caught them in an allegedly ‘compromising position’ in a classroom on June 13.
The alleged incident rocked the school community with parents telling The Courier Mail that there was no communication from the school about the alleged incident and they were told about it by their children.
One parent called the alleged situation “shocking” and “disgustingly ironic” for a Catholic college.
Two days after the alleged event, Principal Marcus Richardson said “this matter is being treated seriously” and “we cannot make any public comment on this matter while the investigation is carried out”.
Mr Richardson ensured the priority of the college remains the safety and wellbeing of students and staff and if there were any concerns about the matter, they could contact him.
Aquinas College is the oldest coeducational catholic college on the Gold Coast with student fees up to $5700 a year.
SCENIC RIM: claims of “toxic bullying” at Beaudesert
Stories of a ‘toxic’ environment at Beaudesert State High school began being shared in August 2023 following the suicides of two students within 20 months of one another who had endured “relentless bullying” at the secondary school.
13-year-old transgender student Onyx Rose suicided on July 16, with sister Ivy Lambert telling The Courier Mail that her sibling had endured bullying so bad that Onyx Rose stopped eating and began self-harming.
Following Onyx Rose’s death, dozens of parents contacted The Courier Mail and expressed concerns about toxic bullying at the school, with claims including students being bashed to the point of needing corrective surgery.
One mother said that her son was “bashed by kids who told him they were going to run through our house, rape me in front of him and then kill us all”.
A former student who left in 2022 told The Courier Mail that “going to school made me feel dead inside” and alleged that “many kids would come to school high or drunk just to get through the day”.
The ex-student claimed that there was a “putrid culture” at the school, with kids spitting at people in the hallways, starting fights almost daily and swearing at teachers.
In August, Jasmine Osborne also spoke out to “blow the roof” on toxic bullying at Beaudesert State High School after she lost her 16-year-old daughter Lilly Osborne to suicide in November, 2021.
Ms Osborne claims that her daughter was “punched, kicked, tripped, had her hair pulled”, and said that the State Government had failed her daughter, “educationally and mentally”.
Education Minister Grace Grace said that her department was working closely with the school and families of issues that had been raised, following an in-person forum with families and the school on August 9, 2023.
Ms Grace said that “several suggestions … have been developed into an action plan” including enhanced supervision during break times, consultation on the student code of conduct and increasing the chaplain position.
An Education Queensland spokesperson also told The Courier Mail on August 22, 2023, that “the Department and the school leadership team continues to provide ongoing support to Onyx’s family … and continue to support the wellbeing of all students”.
READ MORE: TEEN GIRLS IN WILD FIGHT THAT SHUT DOWN BEAUDESERT PUBLIC LIBRARY
NORTH BUNDABERG: School riots, bathroom brawls, eshays
Parents of children at Bundaberg North State High School said they were at breaking point with the “massive culture problem” at the school which has allegedly seen children bashed and bullied in school riots and brawls.
The call-out from parents for the Bundaberg school to take more action in its duty of care came a week after the school was put into a “precautionary lockdown” on August 29 when a violent lunchtime brawl caused emergency services to be called.
Following the brawl, which saw a group of teenagers throwing punches and piling on top of one another, parents spoke to The Courier Mail with their concerns, one mother saying her daughter had been “beaten up” four times in 18 months, with the most recent attack putting her in hospital.
One video that emerged from a fight at the school shows a girl hitting another female student on the back of the head three times in the school bathrooms with onlookers chanting “keep going, keep going” in the background.
One mother said “there is a massive culture problem. It’s crazy. Girls fighting in bathrooms, not just the boys”.
A spokesman from the Department of Education said that “all such incidents are investigated, actioned and support provided to students” and that the school “takes student safety very seriously and works to provide a safe, supportive learning environment for all students”.
A staff member at Bundaberg North State High School told The Courier Mail in August that an email was sent by an acting deputy at the school to staff members, informing them to call police if they see a group of “eshay” students on the school grounds.
The staff member, who asked not to be named, said that one particular “group of eshays” had previously been suspended for kicking another student who was using the urinal, and are kicking other boys out of the toilet so they can vape.
The staff member said that “some of them are a big enough (issue) that we need to ring triple-zero as soon as they set foot on the grounds”.
A Department of Education spokesman said that the department was “aware of concerns raised relating to complex behaviour issues form a group of students within the school community” and that the senior leadership team was working with parents, students and staff to address the issues.
SUNSHINE COAST: Brawls and Instagram fight clubs
Shocking videos emerged this year of teenagers at various state schools getting into fights and altercations across the Sunshine Coast, before posting the videos on Instagram, encouraging followers to send in more.
Posting on several pages around the theme of ‘Sunshine Coast fights’ or ‘Sunny Coast fights’, the videos show teenagers getting into serious brawls with onlookers heard cheering in the background.
A Sunshine Coast mother found a fight Instagram page in September, 2023, and told the Sunshine Coast Daily that she was “horrified” after watching the video and worried for her children’s safety.
A Queensland Education spokesman told the Sunshine Coast Daily that there was no data to suggest there had been an increase in fight videos in state schools on the Sunshine Coast and that support and services to request online content to be removed were available for anyone affected.
New Sunshine Coast fight club Instagram accounts continue to emerge after old accounts are reported and deleted.
Violence in the area is also causing students to resort to weapons, with police called after a 12-year-old girl allegedly pulled a knife and stabbed another male student at a Sunshine Coast secondary school on October 3.
Students were reportedly hiding under their desks after seeing the girl walking around the schoolyard with a steak knife, banging on classroom doors saying “I’m going to kill you all”.
The school was put into a one-hour lockdown and the 12-year-old girl was later charged with one count each of wounding, going armed so as to cause fear, possessing a knife in a public place, two counts of common assault and three counts of wilful damage.
Applications for the Sunshine Coast Daily to be present in the courtroom for matters related to the case were denied after the girl was due to appear at Maroochydore Children’s Court on October 4.
In October, a Queensland Teachers’ Union spokeswoman said the union backed suspending students as a last resort for physically fighting to ensure “calm and safe spaces for teaching and learning”.
BUNDABERG: Shalom College teacher dies from heart attack
Tragedy struck at Shalom College in Bundaberg on October 3 when religious education teacher James Kiernan died from a heart attack at the school.
An email from principal Dan McMahon informed parents that Mr Kiernan had collapsed at his desk at 7.30am before three colleagues administered CPR and an ambulance was called, but were unable to revive him.
Mr McMahon described Mr Kiernan as “a much loved member of staff at Shalom since 2021” who “will be greatly missed in this community”.
Mr Kiernan is survived by his wife Peta, three daughters and a number of “beautiful grandchildren”.
Following the incident, Shalom College offered counselling services to both students and staff.
READ MORE: TRIBUTES FOR JAMES KIERNAN FOLLOWING HEART ATTACK AT SHALOM COLLEGE
SARINA: Fart bombs and lewd footage
In October, 2023, a Department of Education spokesman confirmed that lewd footage was being produced and shared by students at Sarina State High School, less than 12 months after alleged nude photos of a teenage girl were reportedly air-dropped to other students.
The Daily Mercury reported that the new footage that students were sharing allegedly showed themselves masturbating.
The DOE spokesman said student safety and wellbeing is the highest priority at school, which also ‘includes the online environment’.
He told The Daily Mercury that parents also have an ‘important role’ in monitoring their children’s online behaviour and that schools would support this by continuing to ‘actively communicate with parents to warn of the dangers and outline responsibilities associated with technology both at school and at home’.
A week prior to the lewd footage being shared, Sarina State High School was also embroiled in a ‘fart bomb’ incident in which students reportedly bought the fart bombs from a nearby service station and released them inside a classroom.
The DOE spokesman did not comment on how many students were expelled or suspended over the incident and said that ‘principals have powers to confiscate illegal and illicit items’ from students.
He also said that ‘students involved have been dealt with in accordance with the school’s Student Code of Conduct’.
In 2022, footage emerged of students at Sarina State High School involved in various fights after a student spoke out about the violence plaguing their schoolyard, claiming there were ‘at least six to seven fights a term’.
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