By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Don Bosco Catholic Primary School has denied it has segregated girls and boys in the schoolyard after a wave of public uproar.
On 3 August, parents had complained to radio station 3AW about a ban on Year 5 and 6 students interacting with the other gender.
A caller ‘Bill’ had told the station that senior students had been called into an emergency assembly the day before and told they were not to gather and “play piggy … unless they’re the same gender”.
The move was due to some students not following the school’s guidelines, Bill said.
“And now it seems like the whole senior level have been tarred with the same brush.”
In a statement to parents, principal Mark Linden said: “There is no such school policy and no such policy has been contemplated.
“The senior children were spoken to this morning before recess to clarify that there is no segregation and children can play with whomever they like.
“Teachers also apologised for any misunderstanding that they may have created.”
Mr Linden wrote that the issue arose from a playground incident.
“In attempting to resolve the issue, senior teachers spoke to all senior children in an effort to lessen the tensions so that they could address specifics.
“The suggestion was made to separate groups of children.”
He said students were encouraged to “interact in a respectful and friendly way”.
