TOWNSVILLE (AUSTRALIA)
Townsville Bulletin
November 19, 2017
By Sam Bidey
A TOWNSVILLE school under the microscope at a royal commission investigation into child sexual abuse will shut down its secondary and boarding education.
Shalom Christian College, currently a Prep to Year 12 school, will only accept primary students next year, cutting its enrolment by more than half and ceasing its role as an indigenous boarding school for the “welfare” of children.
The Uniting Church-owned and operated Condon school was heavily scrutinised as part of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
In November 2016, a former principal of Shalom, Christopher Shirley, told the royal commission that the school dealt with about 20 sexual assaults a year.
The mother of a girl who was allegedly gang raped at the age of 14 in 2006 told the royal commission the school had tried to cover up the attack.
Last year, Shalom Christian College principal Christopher England said he could not provide a safe environment for students in the boarding houses with the resource levels available.
Reverend David Baker, moderator of the Uniting Church in Queensland, said the primary school was only guaranteed to run in 2018, with the long-term future of the school uncertain.
“This decision has been based solely on the welfare and best interests of our students,” Rev Baker said.
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