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Scots College has hit back against claims from parents that the prestigious private school had reacted poorly to the ongoing sexual assault scandal because the families of some of the boys who have been charged were financial donors to the school.
The students – a 13-year-old boy and two 14-year-old boys – were charged with aggravated sexual assault after an alleged attack on a girl in a Bondi Junction laneway on July 22.
Some parents told the Herald they were concerned the school was downplaying the seriousness of the incident because of financial donations previously made by families of two of the three boys, who cannot be legally identified.
Scots College principal Dr Ian Lambert defended the school’s “active and continuing” handling of the crisis, and said he intended to remain in his role until his planned retirement at the end of next year amid calls for his resignation.
“The suggestion that the college is shielding any student because of a family donation is false,” Lambert, who has held the title of school principal for 19 years, said in a statement.
“Donations have no bearing whatsoever on decisions concerning student welfare, attendance or discipline.
“The same standards apply to every student, with each case considered on its facts and in accordance with law, not according to family circumstances or public pressure.”
One concerned parent with a student at the private boys’ school said the anger [among parents] was palpable.
“The accusation is horrifying and, of course, we worry about the effect on our boy, anybody would. The students will be tarred with same brush. Honestly, I think they would have had their enrolment looked into already if they hadn’t donated,” the parent said.
Another parent said the school had failed to substantially address her questions about culture in relation to the alleged assault on July 22 and previous incidents at the elite institution.
“I’m appalled at how the school has responded,” said the parent with a boy in the same year group as the three boys charged with sex offences.
“It’s how you react when these things happen that define you. And the way that the school is reacting right now is appalling personally as a parent, as a woman, as a human being. You don’t have to be a woman.
“It’s just not the culture I want my son in.”
The question of financial donations is considered sensitive by many in the school community because Scots College is heavily dependent on cash gifts from parents, with more than 400 names listed on the school’s donations register.
Philanthropic giving generally yields the school about $4 million to $6 million a year, according to its financial disclosures. However, much larger sums have been obtained from the school community to fund capital works programs.
The school’s $60 million John Cunningham Student Centre, built in the style of a Scottish baronial castle, was in large part funded by donations, including a gift of more than $12 million from Cunningham, a former student, management consultant and honorary consul general of Barbados in Australia.
Three other families gave more than $1 million each towards the building’s construction, while another 81 families, trusts and foundations kicked in tens of thousands each to get the project off the ground, according to school records.
The median income of households with children at the Bellevue Hill school was $336,000 in 2024, and fees can be among the highest in the nation at more than $50,000 a year.
Parents and former students said they could only speak anonymously of their concerns about the school’s culture because they were worried about a backlash against their children.
Lambert said their fears were unfounded.
“The college does not take disciplinary action against students because a parent or former student has lawfully expressed a concern or opinion about the college,” he said.
“We expect genuine concerns to be raised directly with the college so they can be answered, while every member of our community must protect young people’s privacy and welfare and respect the legal process.”
It is not the first time Lambert has been forced to defend the school against claims of sexual assault by Scots College boys.
In 2021, several Sydney private schools, including Scots, faced allegations raised in an online petition – launched by former Kambala student Chanel Contos – that students had assaulted young women.
Women described waking up naked at parties after passing out due to intoxication, with male peers penetrating them.
Other students said they were physically forced to perform oral sex on a male while intoxicated, sometimes while the boy’s friends were present or filming the incident.
Lambert said at the time: “It is a wake-up call for us all.”
When asked on Wednesday whether the college would be reviewing its education around consent and behavioural expectations of students in light of the assault allegations, he said: “We do not accept that charges against individual students establish a failure of education, or that a difference between our methods and others’ preferences constitutes a deficiency.
“Consent, dignity, respectful relationships, self-control and personal responsibility are taught age-appropriately and cumulatively throughout a student’s years at Scots, grounded in Christian conviction.”
With Chris Harris, Riley Walter and Natassia Chrysanthos
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
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Ben Cubby is an investigative reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
Emily Kowal is a Walkley award-winning education reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.From our partners
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