Methodist Ladies’ College Melbourne warns parents about students drinking before school formal

One of Melbourne’s top private girls’ schools has warned parents they could be sued if their children get drunk before or after prom.

Julia Shea, the principal of Melbourne’s Methodist Ladies’ College, wrote to parents last week to discourage them from “hosting events where the provision of alcohol to minors is intended or likely to occur.”

It’s because parents at the school have asked other parents to sign waivers that remove liability if a drunk teen is harmed in their home.

But in her letter to parents, seen by the Announce sunMs Shea said lawyers warn that forms ‘considered waivers’ would have ‘very little weight in a case of negligence’ and ‘do nothing to override a host’s duty of care’.

While most schools keep the event itself alcohol-free, many formal proms have become all-day drinking sessions with underage students drinking alcohol before and after.

Ms Shea’s letter, co-signed by the school’s parents’ association, also explains that the formal end must end ‘immediately’ at 10:30pm and that participants must be picked up in pre-booked taxis or by their parents.

“Note that Uber does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to book or ride an Uber unless accompanied by an adult,” the letter reads.

Students will also have to go to the school to pick up their tickets the morning before the event to slow down drinking each day.

The principal’s strict rules are vastly different from those of many other elite private schools that have allowed drinking.

Last year, Thomas Carr College in Tarneit, Victoria allowed their students over the age of 18 to drink wine and beer at their graduation dinner, while Melbourne Girls’ College dropped Year 12 formalities altogether in 2020.

Julia Shea, the principal of Melbourne’s Methodist Ladies’ College, wrote to parents last week to discourage them from “hosting events where the provision of alcohol to minors is intended or likely to take place.”

The reputation of some of Australia’s most exclusive private schools has suffered in recent years following a series of scandals involving privileged male students.

In 2020, a Sydney Shore School scavenger hunt was leaked that awarded points for a number of acts including “pissing on a homeless person”, “hooking up with an Asian” and the “Boar Hunter” – having sex with a woman over 80kg.

Meanwhile, students at St. Kevin’s College in Melbourne, which costs $19,000 a year, and students at Villanova College in Brisbane were recorded singing obscene songs with offensive lyrics against women.

St Kevin’s College students dressed in their school’s striped blazers were filmed singing the song in 2019 saying, ‘I wish all the ladies were potholes… And if I were a dump truck I’d fill ’em with my cargo.’

Video was made of Villanova’s Catholic schoolboys signing a song with the words “c*m and go,” “shoot and scoot,” and “ejaculate and evacuate,” referring to sex with a woman.

In 2021, former Kambala student Chanel Contos, 22, started a petition for sexual consent education in elite schools, leading thousands of girls across Australia to speak out about abuse and sexual assault at the hands of their male peers.

Victoria has passed laws making it an offense for adults providing alcohol to minors without parental or guardian consent in 2011.

Anyone who violates the law can be fined up to $7,000.