College incident

Bishop Viard College is keen to calm rumours and fears after police were called to restrain a year 11 boy wielding an art knife on May 31.

The school was put on lockdown while the student was loose and police were called to help, principal Teresa Cargo said.

‘‘He was at no time a threat to other students at all but was deeply distressed and in the end we felt we had to call police to restrain him and put the school into lockdown.’’

The school’s roll of about 500 students and staff stayed in classrooms until the incident was over, Ms Cargo says.

‘‘ It was distressing for everyone concerned.’’

That day an assembly was called, where students were told what happened and the student was prayed for, Ms Cargo said.

‘‘We recognised it’s really tough being a teenager today.’’

A letter outlining the incident was also sent home to all school families but there were still fears and worries among parents, Ms Cargo said.

‘‘I know there are rumours going around left, right and centre. He was never a threat to anybody else.’’

The student has not returned to studies due to his health, which has been affected by a situation outside of school, Ms Cargo said.

Bishop Viard is assessing the student’s future at the school and trying to ensure there is a good support network around him, she said.