A leading Northern Ireland grammar school has issued an apology for a hazing incident during a rugby trip that has sparked outrage.
Belfast: So, there’s been quite a stir over at Methodist College. The family of a student, Gabriel McConkey, has taken legal action after some pretty shocking stuff went down during a rugby trip to Portugal last December.
Gabriel’s mom, Sian Mawhinney, was really upset, saying there was a total lack of compassion from the school. She felt they didn’t get how serious this was for her son.
In a statement to the Belfast Telegraph, the school said they had already apologized before the court case. Rev Niall Johnston, who’s in charge of the Board of Governors, reiterated that apology and mentioned they started reviewing their procedures right away.
Apparently, Gabriel was pressured into doing some humiliating things by older students, like running around naked and watching some pretty inappropriate stuff. His family says he was filmed in degrading videos, which really messed him up.
After all this, Gabriel stopped playing rugby at the school. He ended up suing the school for negligence, claiming they didn’t supervise the team properly. Last week, they settled, and he received over £52,000.
The school said they’ve since improved their supervision procedures, especially during trips. They’re hoping to prevent anything like this from happening again.
Sian Mawhinney praised her son for his strength, saying he kept going to school despite everything. She felt the school didn’t fully grasp the seriousness of the situation and was more focused on protecting their image.
She emphasized that this wasn’t just about money; it was about holding the school accountable. Gabriel’s resilience has been remarkable, and she’s proud of how he handled everything.
After the settlement, the school announced they’ve updated their supervision policies for trips. The police also got involved after reports of videos being shared among students, but they didn’t take any further action.
