A teacher has resigned after footage was made public of an expletive-laden online feedback session to a Year 12 English class.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
In the video, the Ballarat Clarendon College teacher berates students for the "f---ing appalling mistakes" in their essays, describes some of the work as "absolute dog sh-t" and statements that are "so f---ing sh-t".
"I nearly killed myself as I was reading them," she said in frustration at the work some of the students handed in as draft essays.
In a statement, the school said they had become aware of the video late Friday and "immediately relieved the teacher involved from all teaching duties".
"It falls well out of bounds in terms of school values, principles and standards," it said.
She resigned on Tuesday morning.
"The staff member was relieved of teaching duties as soon as the school became aware and has had no contact with students. She has tendered her resignation, effective immediately," said acting principal Jen Bourke.
"The Year 12 cohort has been addressed and the students in the class have been provided with support and opportunities for counselling from our wellbeing team. The parents of the students in the class were contacted over the weekend to alert them."
Students have been studying the comparative texts The 7 Stages of Grieving by Deborah Mailman and Wesley Enoch, and The Longest Memory by Fred D'Aguiar.
The video was recorded from Microsoft Teams last week and was circulated via social media.
The school said it had not received any complaints from students or parents.
The brutal feedback session comes just two months before the Year 12s begin their final VCE exams, with the English exam scheduled for Tuesday, October 24.
Ballarat Clarendon College is consistently one of the highest-scoring state schools in VCE results.
The school said it was "dealing with a complex and difficult situation" and a process was being followed "appropriately and sensitively".
The school's high pressure culture has been in the spotlight over the past two years with several investigations into allegations of bullying and harassment involving staff, and a WorkSafe investigation relating to an alleged contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
ACM's The Courier has received several anonymous allegations about the culture at the college.
Independent investigations into the bullying and harassment allegations found the claims were unsubstantiated.
In July, the school revealed its next principal will be Jen Bourke, who has been at the school since 2005. Current leader David Shepherd will step down in December after 27 years in the job.
