Dear Parents and Caregivers,

John McGlashan College is dedicated to maintaining strong relationships with parents and guardians, which is an integral part of providing our pupils with the very best education and pastoral care.

The key to that relationship is open communication, and for that reason, I want to make you aware of an incident that occurred outside of school some weeks ago. During a private social event, some boys acted on a dare, which was filmed. The video was shared widely, causing great embarrassment to all involved. As you can imagine, this has been very distressing for the boys and their families.

Our primary and ongoing priority has been these boys and their wellbeing. We had serious concerns around the impact of any news media coverage, social media sharing and community gossip. We continue to hold concerns about the effects of sharing and discussing this short moment in the boys’ young lives by their peers and the wider community.

I want to make sure you are aware that appropriate support has been provided to the boys since the incident occurred. All involved have reflected on how they conducted themselves. We can all make mistakes, especially teenagers, but what is most important is how we learn from those mistakes.

We all know the impact social media can have on young people, and of course, the glare of the news media spotlight can amplify any online discussion. There have been suggestions that a more public response could have come sooner, but we had to consider the immediate and serious concerns for the wellbeing of the boys and their families, so felt it was not appropriate before this.

My door is always open for any parents who want to meet and discuss any concerns. I would much prefer that anyone with specific concerns came and talked to me so that we can understand and address the issues. Rest assured, the school management and both Boards are working extremely hard to deal with and move forward from this issue in a way that ensures the wellbeing of the boys involved.

I know that everyone understands that in times like these, the strength of our community support allows us to move forward stronger and with the best interests of our boys at heart. John McGlashan College will continue to educate our young men in a progressive manner and provide them with the necessary tools to successfully and responsibly navigate an increasingly complex world.

Finally, I want to close with an assurance to you that whenever we have an incident involving our boys, first and foremost, our priority will be on looking after those boys and their families.

Yours faithfully,

NEIL GARRY

Principal