Ex-private schoolgirls have revealed the ‘disgusting crap’ they had to put up with during their time at secondary school.
The revelations were sparked by a TikTok video by former private Catholic school pupil Claire Champion, 22, which gained more than half a million views as she explained the rules she had to follow as a schoolgirl.
She explained how students at her school had to wear the same uniform and school bag, which cost around $500, and could not wear makeup, nail polish, jewelry or hair dye.
Former private Catholic school pupil Claire Champion, 22, got more than half a million views when she explained the rules she had to follow as a schoolgirl
She explained how students at her school had to wear the same uniform and school bag, which cost around $500, and could not wear makeup, nail polish, jewelry or hair dye
In another video, she explained how the only jewelry students were allowed to wear was a crucifix and a signet ring
“They would literally come around with a makeup wipe and pull it out, you’d have to sit in the middle of class and rub your makeup off,” she said.
‘If you were caught wearing jewelery twice a week they would put it in an envelope and put it in the office and you can’t get it back until the end of the week.
‘At the end of term some girls would come back from the office with several envelopes of jewelery that had been confiscated.
“How damned is that damned?”
In another video, she explained how the only jewelry students were allowed to wear was a crucifix and a signet ring.
A third video saw her reveal how girls would be lined up to have their uniform judged by school staff.
“When we did uniform checks, the teachers would come down with bags packed and it would have makeup wipes, nail polish remover, hair ties and little envelopes for jewelry and shoe polish,” she recalled.
‘They would stand in front of you and watch you take it all off. They would stand there while all the girls are standing in line and you rub off all your makeup.
“You should damn kneel down and shine your shoes.”
In another bizarre story, she recalled how a deputy principal followed the school bus for more than an hour to make sure students wouldn’t take off their blazers.
“He stands at the bus stop and watches us all get off and anyone who got off the bus without their blazers got an afternoon detention, he literally wrote them up there,” she said.
‘These schools are really proud of their appearance and how the students look and present themselves, but is there as much care that goes into dealing with mental illness, eating disorders, what about bullying, schools worry about that.
“I’m just going to say there really wasn’t much in place for anything like that,” Ms Champion said.
Her video inspired other private school girls to come forward.
Former all-girls private school pupil Yasmin said: ‘This was the most confusing thing about it (the school), they had security at every single entrance to the school monitoring uniforms.
‘They would have the security guard walk down the road and literally spy on the girls to see if we were in the right uniform or had our blazers on.
‘Security would literally wait at the tram stop and pick out the girls who didn’t have their blazer with their sweater or weren’t wearing their school star.’
Former all-girls private school pupil Yasmin said: “This was the most outrageous thing about it (the school), they had security at every single entrance to the school monitoring uniforms”
Rhea Miars from Melbourne said she was ‘so happy that TikTok is finally talking about this (private school experiences)’
Another TikToker said: ‘Our teachers checked our lockers to see if they were locked and if they weren’t they threw our bags into a giant garbage bag.’
Meanwhile, Rhea Miars from Melbourne said she was ‘so happy that TikTok is finally talking about this (private school experiences)’.
“I will tell you the most horrible things that happened in my six to seven years at an all-girls Christian school,” she said.
“Literally, you have to have that one type of sock, you have to have your buttons up to your neck to choke you, and your tie has to be pulled all the way up,” she said.
‘The most ridiculous thing was their obsession with what we did outside of school.
‘We would have these assemblies where they would discuss good morals, ethics and values with what we did with our time outside of school, like not hanging out with boys, not going to the mall after school, not going to Hungry Jacks after school in school uniform…
‘They were so obsessed with their reputation it was just ridiculous.
“And unless you could play the violin, the piano, or could play chess, they didn’t care about you.”