Newman College bans 19 Year 12 students from school ball over muck-up day mayhem

Nineteen boys from an exclusive western suburbs Catholic school have been banned from attending their school ball tonight after they ran amok at end-of-year muck-up day celebrations. A Year 12 student who admitted his involvement said some boys threw eggs at classroom windows during Tuesday’s late-night antics at Newman College in Churchlands, while others greased door knobs, glued tables and chairs together and moved wheelie bins to the oval. The student, who asked for his name to be withheld, said it was a tradition for Year 12 students to create some mayhem before they left school forever. “I don’t regret it at all, it was really fun for the boys,” he said. “I just think that the school should have taken away our ban. “Especially when we’ve been waiting for the ball 14 years of our lives and for them to just throw it away over some light-hearted muck-up day stuff that every school experiences every year, I just think it’s ludicrous.” Newman College principal John Finneran confirmed 19 students would not attend the school ball because their invitations had been withdrawn. Invitations to the event at Fraser’s Restaurant in Kings Park were based on students’ attendance and behaviour records. “They were on the grounds in our community where there was significant vandalism that occurred as a consequence of their actions,” Mr Finneran said. “There was physical and material damage done to parts of the school and it was significant. “It was a disregard for the property and a disregard for the facility.” The student, whose parents knew he had spoken to The West, said the school claimed the boys’ spree had caused thousands of dollars worth of damage. “It was nothing too serious,” he said. “Just funny, simple kind of stuff.” The student said it was unfair to be told just a few hours before their ball they would not be allowed to go. “It’s not just us that are affected, our ball dates are affected,” he said. All 19 boys were also suspended from school on their last day of Year 12 today. Mr Finneran said the boys would still be allowed to attend their graduation ceremony in two weeks.