The principal of a Blue Mountains high school has had a prestigious Harvard scholarship put on hold while her school is investigated by the New South Wales Department of Education.
The internal departmental investigation comes on top of two court cases involving staff or students at the school.
On Monday, the Katoomba high school (KHS) principal, Jenny Boyall, wrote to parents after the Sunday Telegraph reported on an ongoing rape trial involving two former students of the school dating back to 2019.
“I understand that these reports may be distressing and I would like to reassure you that student and safety wellbeing is always our critical priority,” Boyall said.
“The incident that is referred to in the media allegedly occurred on a weekend, on private property in 2019 and led to a police investigation and subsequent court proceedings.”
Boyall’s letter came after posters were put up anonymously around Katoomba last week, urging KHS students to report rape or sexual assault allegations to police strikeforce Woolalla.
“Make KHS rape free,” the posters said.
Police have confirmed the existence of the strikeforce, but not detailed whether it is investigating further allegations beyond the one in court.
A male was charged with eight counts of sexual assault without consent, one count of intentionally choking and one count of common assault. The now former student pleaded not guilty in the children’s court and a verdict is expected in May. He cannot be identified for legal reasons.
In an unrelated matter, a teacher at the school was jailed in 2020 after he was found guilty of having sex with a student in 2019.
Separately, the NSW Department of Education has been conducting its own professional and ethical standards (PES) investigation into the school since late 2020.
The ongoing departmental probe was asked to investigate a complaint made by a parent about alleged failures in the school’s response to claims that male students were harassing female students.
In May 2021, about six months after the investigation began, Boyall was awarded a $16,000 scholarship by the Public Education Foundation and the Harvard Club of Australia.
The scholarship funds the recipient to attend a short professional education program at Harvard’s graduate school in the US.
When the award was announced, a statement from the department described the educator as an “exceptional leader” who displayed “outstanding leadership”.
The department’s then acting secretary, Georgina Harrisson, said Boyall “epitomises our ambition that no matter where our students live they have access to a quality education” and praised her role in leading the school during the pandemic and other challenges.
The scholarship was suspended in December after organisers were made aware of the department’s investigation, which was originally expected to take nine months.
But in November 2021, the department wrote a letter, seen by Guardian Australia, that said it would take longer.
“The allegations are serious, a large volume of evidence has been obtained and delays beyond the control of PES have occurred,” the letter said.
“PES resources are finite, and the investigation’s progress is balanced against the progress of other competing investigations.”
In response to questions about the internal investigation and police matters, the department said in a statement it was “unable to comment on proceedings currently before the courts and the media is urged to respect this process”.
“Staff and students at Katoomba high school are being well supported and a newsletter was issued to parents and carers,” the department said.
Boyall was contacted for comment.
Do you know more? Email tamsin.rose@theguardian.com
An earlier version of this story did not mention that the alleged rape that’s the subject of an ongoing court case did not occur on school grounds. An extra sentence from Boyall’s letter to parents was included to reflect this fact.
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues in Australia is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732) and the crisis support service Lifeline, 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org
