Students at private boys’ school Knox Grammar have been suspended or left the school after posting inappropriate images and engaging in offensive commentary in an online private chat room.
In a letter to parents on Wednesday, principal Scott James said the school had acted following “an incident” involving several boys from the senior school.
“The nature of these posts is contrary to the values and culture of Knox and is unacceptable. The action of the boys do not reflect a Knox education or the expectations that we place on our students to be respectful and responsible citizens in the community,” James said.
“The boys posted inappropriate images and engaged in offensive commentary in an online private chatroom,” he said, noting an investigation into the incident was ongoing.
“In regard to the images, some were taken during school activities and later doctored, and the school has spoken with all families of identifiable students. To be very clear, the doctored images do not require mandatory reporting under child protection requirements, and we have discussed the matter with police.”
An article published in The Daily Telegraph claims messages posted included misogynistic, racist and anti-Semitic commentary. It says students from the school set up a chat group on messaging app Discord and videos were shared of young men who appear to be being raped.
Read the article by Lucy Carroll in The Age.