A TEENAGER from Oxfordshire studying in one of England’s most prestigious private schools is now facing possible expulsion over concerning jokes online about rape and antisemitism.
The parents of the 15-year-old pupil, whose identity cannot be revealed for legal reasons, are now threatening Abingdon School with legal action over the reaction to two recent incidents.
A lengthy email chain between the boy’s father and headmaster Michael Windsor, which were seen by the Oxford Mail, reveal the true extent of these ‘jokes’.
The first incident happened when the 15-year-old allegedly sent a picture of three people dressed as Nazi soldiers to another Abingdon pupil from a Jewish family through social media app Snapchat.
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Abingdon School was contacted about the post by another student who was 'shocked' by its content.
The second incident came to light when a video allegedly shared by the schoolboy on another social media app Tik Tok was viewed by pupils from another school in the area, who were ‘so shocked’ and ‘disturbed’ by what they had seen, that they reported it to their deputy head.
The email from Mr Windsor also included the concerns of the said deputy head, who was not named.
A quote attributed to them said: “I was particularly concerned about the video making reference to rape, which I believe has now been removed due to community guidelines.
“In the video, there is a lady who removes a balaclava and says ‘what would you do if I burgled your house’.
“The account has attached, or ‘stitched’ in Tik Tok terms, a video of himself with a gun, seen visibly behind his back in a mirror saying ‘I would rape you’ in response."
In an email to the boy’s parents, Mr Windsor also revealed that the student posted a series of videos that were ‘grossly racist and sexist’, and that several members of the school’s administration all saw them before they were deleted.
Mr Windsor added: “We were all appalled by them.
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“He was involved in similar behaviour in December 2018 when he served a temporary exclusion for three days due to his involvement in a fight, which had been triggered by Islamophobic posts that he had targeted at a student.
“These incidents do not just contravene our Behaviour, Rewards and Sanctions Policy but they go completely against the ethos and culture of the school based on courtesy, kindness and respect.”
The boy’s parents, however, argue that there is a major difference between ‘virtual’ and ‘real’ life, and that their son should not be punished so severely because of posts on social media, which are ‘just jokes’.
They also revealed that they are consulting with lawyers about next steps.
While they were due to have a meeting with representatives from the elite school on Tuesday last week, this has now been postponed as the boy’s parents pointed out that they still have not been shown the online posts.
The schoolboy also issued an apology about his behaviour, which was also included in the emails, in which he confirmed that all posts have now been deleted.
It said: “I am deeply sorry and regretful of my stupid actions.
“I deeply regret my actions and I understand that people could get offended by them very easily but I had no intention of offending or hurting someone’s feelings.
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“In the small amount of time I have had to think about my disgraceful actions, I can certainly confirm that not a single thing I said was intended with harm or to offend anyone.
“I understand now that it would and I regret posting those things, it was a lack of judgement before when posting, and I did not think about all the people that would see my profile.
“I am deeply sorry and I promise that this will not happen again.”
The Oxford Mail contacted Abingdon School about these incidents, however, Professor Michael Stevens, Chair of Governors, said that no further comments can be made about the matter, while there is an ongoing investigation.
He added: “The school has a very clear policy on discipline and behaviour which all the students and their families are aware of.
“There is a copy of the policy on the website and students are frequently reminded of the high standards expected of them.”
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