Police have been called in by a prestigious Victorian school to investigate claims a punishment ring of senior boarding students with a “perverse sense of justice” has repeatedly assaulted younger boarders.
Police have been called in by a prestigious Victorian school to investigate claims a punishment ring of senior boarding students with a “perverse sense of justice” has repeatedly assaulted younger boarders.
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- National
- Victoria
- Private schools
By Noel Towell
February 21, 2025 — 7.36pm
A prestigious Victorian private school has called in police to investigate “horrendous” and confronting claims of a punishment ring among senior boarding students, who repeatedly assaulted their younger schoolmates with straps.
Ballarat Grammar principal Adam Heath says at least 10 current senior students had developed a “perverse sense of justice”, believing they had the right to “administer consequences”, with a strap, on younger boarders.
Heath told The Age on Friday evening that he believed 12 boys might have been “punished” by the older students. 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.
The principal said it was unclear how widespread the “punishment” culture had spread, but he and his colleagues were investigating. Ballarat Grammar has two boarding houses.
“We’ve got to be really open and honest with ourselves and say if something is going on in one boys’ boarding house, it’s really possible that it’s going on in the second,” Heath said.
“We haven’t got any confirmed allegations from the second house, but we’re just we’re just working through that because we have our suspicions.”
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The school says it is unclear how long the so-called punishments were being meted out, and the alleged offending came to light early this month when a parent approached the school to report their child had said they had been hit with a strap.
“This perverse sense of justice … seems to have been understood in the house whereby the students feel that they can administer consequences on one another,” Heath said.
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“It is perverse because some of these students consider themselves friends between those administering and those receiving.”
Ballarat Grammar traces its history back to the 19th century, and sets boarding and tuition fees for a year 12 student at more than $49,000.
Heath said police were immediately informed when the school first heard the claims in early February, and that he had been in regular contact with officers from the Ballarat sexual offences and child abuse team ever since.
Victoria Police has been contacted for comment.
The principal pledged full openness and accountability with the school community and the broader public while both the school and police investigations were conducted.
A respected former principal of Adelaide’s exclusive Prince Alfred College, Brad Fenner, considered an expert in boys’ education, had been contracted by Ballarat Grammar to conduct a sweeping review.
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“He will be working with us to review all of us and all of our processes but also providing advice [on] how we’re managing this situation such that we have a fair, transparent process of natural justice for all who are involved,” Heath said.
No one had been punished, the principal confirmed, with the school wanting to ensure procedural fairness was afforded to any student alleged to have been involved in the punishment ring.
“The key to getting through this is to care for our students who are impacted, whether they are victim or perpetrator, that need to be rehabilitated and cared for,” he said.
“So it’s horrendous, and it’s confronting, but we’ve got to be there for our students and for their families whilst we work to discover what occurred, and then administer appropriate consequences, which will all be done decisively.”
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