A former Cromwell College student who has initiated an anti-bullying petition believes the school needs a more transparent system for reporting incidents.

Aleisha Adams’ petition has gained 115 signatures since it was created at the start of October, and she has spoken online about her experiences.

Two parents have also contacted The Central App to raise concerns about what they believe are ongoing issues at the school.

Samantha Thomas said she believes the college has a history of ignoring or downplaying incidents, “and when that happens, the victims lose confidence in everything they're trying to achieve”.

“Transparency is about being open and honest with what is happening with the whole community instead of brushing it under the carpet and pretending it’s not happening.” 

Samantha claimed some local families home school or send their children out of town for schooling “because of that reputation”.

Principal Mason Stretch told The Central App the school takes all reports of bullying very seriously, “and our pastoral team investigates incidents thoroughly as per our school policies and practices”. 

“I urge any parent or student who is experiencing bullying to make contact with our deans, through the school office, or report incidents through our online reporting form on our website.”

Cromwell College has published information on reported behaviour, with collated data from Term 2 this year showing a 30 percent decrease in classroom incidents and a 22 percent decrease in discipline incidents, compared to the same time in 2024.

Latest results released this week for Term 3 show combined numbers of pastoral incidents decreased from 1904 in 2024 to 1513 this year.

Stand downs and suspensions have also trended downward - with 38 in Term 3 compared to 61 in 2024, and suspensions decreased from nine in 2024 to just four in Term 3 this year.

The Term 2 and 3 ‘snapshot’ reports that reference bullying from its last survey ‘I Feel Safe’ have also decreased.

The reports show, in 2024, 77 percent of students felt safe at school, compared to 83 percent this year, and 80 percent of students now feel they belong at school this year, compared to 74 percent in Term 3 last year.

Mason said the latest results will be shared with parents this week.

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