The merger of Armidale’s public high schools did not come as a surprise when it was announced in 2017.
Enrolment had been dwindling for years and both campuses were seriously in need of refurbishments. Did a town of 24,000 people really need two government schools?
Six years later, the former Parents and Citizens (P&C) president Andrew Simpson laughs when asked when the cracks emerged.
“Where do I begin?” he says. “The school was rooted from day one. All that’s keeping my kids there is their friends.”
Armidale styles itself as the education capital of regional New South Wales. The University of New England (UNE) is its major employer, accounting for about 10% of the workforce, with primary and secondary education both in the top five sources of employment.
But, in recent months, the amalgamated “super-school”, Armidale Secondary College (ASC), has made headlines in local papers for all the wrong reasons, with reports of violent incidents and bullying.
‘They’re not feeling safe’
Students have now been on the new campus, built on the site of the former Armidale high school, for two years.
A recent P&C meeting heard a long list of issues raised by students. The complaints, seen by Guardian Australia, included understaffing, poor hygiene standards, leaks and roof cave-ins, constant vandalism, late or no notice of upcoming assessments, a lack of learning resources, poor communication, fights, students starting fires, lockdowns and children carrying weapons.
The school’s management, the P&C heard, was under-resourced and overwhelmed. Turnover is high, with a revolving door of leadership positions. Of the 21 executive staff employed at the school in 2020, only four remain and the team has been reduced to 16. There has been a change of principal and six changes of deputy principal.
A spokesperson for the NSW education department said staff turnover at the college was “not exceptional” and it had “strong continuity” of leadership.
There are other, more serious concerns. A mental health clinician in the community who works with students at the school, speaking to Guardian Australia on condition of anonymity, said there was a month’s wait to see the school’s counsellors, a claim the department countered by saying that at-risk students were not waiting a month.
The clinician said there were high rates of mental distress and some students were at high risk of self-harm. Others have experienced panic attacks while on campus, or been sworn at by teachers. One student was allegedly called a “black cunt”. Another was allegedly told to “go back to the bloody support unit where he belongs”.
The department spokesperson said teachers did “incredible work” to support student wellbeing and were required to treat everyone with “respect, courtesy, fairness and honesty” as part of the code of conduct.
They said ASC had no report of the abuse.
“They’re not feeling safe,” the clinician said. “How do we expect these children to learn?”
The department said the school had a wellbeing team composed of a head teacher, two trained psychologists and a counsellor, and received weekly Headspace visits.
“Any report of potential self-harm by students is dealt with immediately through the wellbeing and counselling teams,” a spokesperson said. “Armidale Secondary College also has 24/7 access to a senior psychologist to support students in crisis.”
A parent at the school, who also asked to remain anonymous for fear of her child facing repercussions, said the situation had “got to an extent where students no longer trust teachers”.
“I hear daily encounters from my son of students misbehaving,” she said. “Staff aren’t listening to students when they report bullying and harassment.”
She said the toilets were often locked due to vandalism and misuse, which had lead to some students wetting their pants after being denied pink slips to urinate.
“Because they have no other choice, parents continue sending their kids to an environment that brings out the worst in them,” she said.
A ‘new benchmark’ turned sour
When the local MP, the Nationals’ Adam Marshall, announced in 2017 that the Duval and Armidale high schools would merge, he said the result would be a “school like no other” in country NSW, setting a “new benchmark” on how they should be designed and operate.
The new campus would hold up to 1,500 students, with sports courts, an Indigenous garden, specialised indoor and outdoor spaces and performing arts facilities.
But the $121m project – the largest in the region’s history – was announced without community consultation.
Students were packed into the Duval site while the new school was built on the site of the Armidale high school.
The principal during this period was Stafford Cameron, who had led Duval since 2010. When he retired in November 2020, his deputy, Carolyn Lasker, was appointed as his successor.
The new school was officially opened in February 2021 with a ceremony attended by the then premier, Gladys Berejiklian and the then deputy premier, John Barilaro.
Berejiklian said the college represented “the best available in public education”.
But by July Lasker had left, and was replaced as principal by Bree Harvey-Bice.
Enrolments have now fallen to 1,126, nearly 100 students fewer than were enrolled at the start of 2021. The latest data shows just 43% of students attended school regularly in semester one of 2022. A year earlier, it was 54%. The school’s Naplan results were below or well below average in all areas.
On TikTok, students have posted videos of schoolyard fights, of students vaping in toilets and stories of the school going into lockdown.
In an email to a parent, seen by Guardian Australia, Harvey-Bice confirmed police were regularly at the school to deal with youth violence. NSW police declined to comment.
Marshall has called for an urgent review of operations following a “disturbing number of serious complaints”. In a meeting with the education minister, Prue Car, in May, Marshall said there was a “broader feeling” the school could not cope and needed “serious attention and resourcing”.
Marshall and Cameron both declined to comment.
A spokesperson for the NSW education department said the school did not tolerate antisocial or violent behaviour and was committed to ensuring every student feels “safe, supported and engaged with their learning”. They said the school was currently refreshing its behavioural policies.
A former teacher at ASC said they had found the school’s management “deeply concerning” and it was urgent that the department intervened.
“They’re getting very little help from the department and there is a feeling that they’re making it up as they go,” they said.
“Visiting casuals say it’s too chaotic and won’t return. Deputies aren’t supposed to be teaching with so much work and serious demands, but they are, due to shortages.
“It’s really disheartening and very sad.”
One parent who spoke to Guardian Australia said they chose to move to Armidale because of its reputation for educational excellence, and because it offered options: if one public school wasn’t working out, you could move to another.
Options still exist – if you are willing to spend a total of about $100,000 for private high school fees. Six of the seven local high schools are private. At ASC, 38% of students are in the bottom quarter of socio-economic advantage.
“We’ve got great public primary schools with smaller numbers where it’s possible to target support,” the parent said. “But at high school, you enrol and hope for the best … the vast majority of parents don’t have another option.
“Governments think they’ve solved the problem because they’ve built the site, but many parents feel we’ve been abandoned.”
In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. International helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Do you know more? Contact Caitlin.Cassidy@theguardian.com
