Elite private school warns parents they could be sued if they allow their children to get drunk at home before attending formal school
- The Methodist College of Ladies issued a warning
- Melbourne school principal said parents could be sued
- Warns against culture of binge drinking in schools
One of Melbourne’s top private girls’ schools has warned parents they could be sued if their children get drunk before or after formal school.
Julia Shea, principal of Methodist Ladies’ College in Melbourne, wrote to parents last week to discourage them from “hosting events where the supply of alcohol to minors is intended or likely to occur.”
It comes as parents at the school have asked other parents to sign liability waivers if an inebriated teen is damaged in their home.
But in his letter to the parents, seen by the herald sunShea said the lawyers caution that the forms “submitted as waivers” would carry “very little weight in any case of negligence” and “do nothing to abrogate the host’s duty of care.”
While most schools keep the event alcohol-free, many formal private schools have turned into all-day drinking sessions with underage students drinking alcohol before and after.
One of Melbourne’s top private girls’ schools has warned parents they could be sued if their children get drunk before or after formal school.
Ms Shea’s letter, co-signed by the school’s Parents’ Association, also explains that the formal event must end ‘quickly’ at 22:30 and attendees must be picked up by pre-booked taxis or by their parents.
“Please note that Uber does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to book or ride an Uber unless accompanied by an adult,” the letter says.
Students will also need to come to school to pick up their tickets in the morning before the event to slow down their alcohol consumption.
The principal’s strict rules are very different from many other elite private schools that have allowed drinking.
Last year, Thomas Carr College in Tarneit, Victoria, allowed its 18+ students to drink wine and beer at their graduation dinner, while in 2020, Melbourne Girls’ College halted Year 12 formals altogether.
Julia Shea, principal of Methodist Ladies’ College in Melbourne, wrote to parents last week to discourage them from “hosting events where the supply of alcohol to minors is intended or likely to occur.”
The reputations of some of Australia’s most exclusive private schools have taken a hit in recent years after a series of scandals involving privileged male students.
In 2020, a Shore School scavenger hunt in Sydney was leaked which saw a points award for a series of acts including ‘piss on a homeless man’, ‘hook up with an Asian’ and the ‘Wild Boar Hunter’ – which is to have sex with a woman of more than 80 kg.
Meanwhile, students at Melbourne’s St. Kevin’s College, which charges $19,000 a year, and students at Brisbane’s Villanova College were recorded singing lewd songs with lyrics offensive to women.
Students from St Kevin’s College dressed in their school’s striped blazers were filmed singing the song in 2019, saying: “I wish all the ladies were holes in the road… And if I were a dump truck I’d fill ’em up with my burden.
Boys at the Villanova Catholic school were recorded singing a song that mentioned ‘c*m and go’, ‘shoot and scoot’ and ‘ejaculate and evacuate’, in reference to having sex with a woman.
In 2021, Kambala alumnus Chanel Contos, 22, started a petition for sexual consent education in elite schools that led thousands of girls across Australia to report sexual abuse and assault at the hands of their male peers.
Victoria passed laws making it an offense for adults to supplying alcohol to minors without obtaining the permission of a parent or guardian in 2011.
Violators of the law can face a fine of up to $7,000.
