Year 12 students at one of Sydney’s most exclusive boys schools celebrated the end of the school year by saluting the Nazi flag in a photo that they duped their deputy principal into appearing in.
Sydney Church of England Grammar School’s headmaster Dr Timothy Wright has been forced to apologise for the image, which was taken during a modern history class, because of a ‘serious error in judgement,’ reports the Daily Telegraph.
The photo, which shows a group of graduating male students holding a Nazi flag and giving the raised salute, was taken in the third term of their final year of high school.
The photo, which shows a group of graduating male students holding a Nazi flag and giving the raised salute, was taken in the third term of their final year of high school
As is common for school leavers the group wanted to take a photo together after a number of weeks studying the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany – which includes interpreting iconography from the era.
In what would become known as a ‘foolish prank’ the boys at the $30,000 a year school on the North Shore unfurled the Nazi flag after convincing Deputy Principal Mr Rod Morrison to take an end-of-year photo with them.
After realising what had happened Mr Morrison proceeded to tell the boys that it was completely inappropriate and took the flag off the students responsible.
After realising what had happened Mr Morrison (pictured) proceeded to tell the boy’s that it was completely inappropriate
He also approached those students on the playground at lunch time to ensure they had deleted it – a response Shore’s Headmaster conceives was unfortunately not heeded by the young boys.
The photo only came to light after the Daily Telegraph approached the school for comment about it.
‘In my investigations I am convinced that this was an ill-conceived prank and a display of very poor judgment by those caught up in the euphoria of the end of school,’ Dr Wright told the student’s parents in a letter.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff told Daily Mail Australia that the students should visit the Sydney Jewish Museum before making misguided mistakes such as these again.
Shore (pictured), which outlines its school aims as promoting ‘a love of others’, has long been ranked as the top non-selective school in NSW in terms of HSC scores
‘There are 50,000 students who are also caught up in “the euphoria of the end of school” who have not chosen to pose in front of a Nazi flag. It is very unfortunate that we increasingly see the trivialisation of Nazi symbols and the atrocities that lay behind them. Year 12 students should know better.
‘We invite these students to undertake a guided tour of the Sydney Jewish Museum by Holocaust survivors so that they can see first-hand the horrors they were making light of.’
Shore, which outlines its school aims as promoting ‘a love of others’, has long been ranked as the top non-selective school in NSW in terms of HSC scores.