Former Students Raise Concerns Over School Culture

Published: 12 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

Former students of a private religious school in western Sydney have described a deeply troubling culture in which teenagers were allegedly expected to share beds with teachers during school trips, while strict discipline, public humiliation and blurred boundaries were also part of school life.

The allegations were presented to a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry investigating the management of Redeemer Baptist School in Parramatta and the oversight provided by government authorities. The testimony has raised wider questions about safeguarding, professional boundaries and the responsibility of religious schools to protect students while they are under the care of teachers and other adults.

Two former students gave evidence about their experiences at the school, describing practices that they said left them with difficult questions to process after leaving the community.

Edward Garth, 23, told the inquiry about an incident during a study stay in the school holidays when he was staying in the same building as the school’s principal and church elder, Jonathon Cannon.

Garth recalled entering a living area after going to the kitchen for a drink before dinner. He said Cannon emerged from a bathroom and walked through the shared area without clothing before returning to his room.

The former student said the encounter left him confused and uncomfortable. According to his testimony, Cannon appeared startled when he saw Garth and quickly went back to his room.

Garth said he subsequently reported what he had seen. However, he told the inquiry that the matter was eventually brought to the attention of Cannon, his brother Noel Cannon and Garth’s own parents. Rather than feeling supported, he said he was reprimanded.

The testimony was presented as part of a broader account of a school environment in which students could find it difficult to understand where appropriate boundaries between adults and children were supposed to lie.

Former student Emma Hughes told the parliamentary inquiry that the culture at Redeemer Baptist School had left her with much to “untangle” as an adult. She described school camps and other activities away from parents as particularly uncomfortable because students were sometimes placed in situations that would not normally be regarded as appropriate in a conventional school setting.

Hughes said that, on some occasions, students were required to share beds with teachers at caravan parks or in cabins owned or used by the school because of limited sleeping space.

She stressed that nothing inappropriate happened to her during those stays. However, she questioned why such arrangements were considered acceptable in the first place and suggested that members of the school community were sometimes aware that the practice was questionable.

Hughes recalled that when she was in Year 6, she shared a bed with a teacher. In an apparent attempt to make the arrangement more equitable, the teacher reportedly rotated the sleeping arrangements so that different students would share the bed on different nights.

For Hughes, the issue was not simply whether something improper occurred. Rather, she said the experience reflected a broader failure to understand and maintain boundaries between adults and students.

She also described a culture in which staff members were sometimes addressed using familial titles such as “uncle”. In her view, those relationships could contribute to blurred distinctions between teachers, community leaders and children.

Personal matters were allegedly discussed openly in front of others, Hughes told the committee, suggesting that students were not always given the privacy or emotional boundaries normally expected within a school environment.

Her evidence also touched on the school’s disciplinary culture. She described what she regarded as an emphasis on surveillance, reporting on fellow students and public punishment.

One incident involved a boy and a girl who had written a love note to one another. Hughes said teachers intercepted the note and the two students were subsequently required to stand on chairs in front of a Year 7 class.

She alleged that Noel Cannon read the note aloud to a group of students before the pair were publicly reprimanded in front of several year groups and numerous teachers.

Such experiences, Hughes suggested, contributed to an atmosphere in which students could feel watched and exposed rather than supported.

The inquiry is examining not only the conduct and management of the school but also the effectiveness of external oversight. Questions have been raised about whether government agencies responded adequately to concerns involving the school over a prolonged period.

Earlier information provided to the parliamentary committee indicated that the NSW Department of Communities and Justice had received 15 risk-of-significant-harm notifications involving the school since 2004. Those notifications, according to the material presented to the inquiry, had not resulted in a field assessment.

The revelation has added another layer to the inquiry’s examination of institutional responsibility. Child-protection systems are designed to identify patterns of concern and ensure that allegations or risks involving children are appropriately assessed. The committee is therefore considering whether existing mechanisms were sufficient to detect and respond to concerns associated with the school.

The testimony also highlights the particular challenges that can arise within tightly connected religious communities. Schools connected to religious organisations can provide students and families with a strong sense of belonging, shared values and community support. At the same time, that close-knit environment can make it more difficult for young people to challenge established practices or raise concerns about adults in positions of authority.

For former students, the consequences of those experiences can continue long after they leave school. Hughes’s description of having to “untangle” aspects of her upbringing as an adult reflects the broader issue of how institutional cultures can influence a young person’s understanding of authority, privacy and personal boundaries.

The allegations heard by the inquiry do not establish that every practice described was illegal or that misconduct occurred in every instance. Hughes specifically told the committee that nothing untoward happened to her when she shared sleeping arrangements with teachers. Nevertheless, the testimony has prompted questions about safeguarding standards and whether practices that may have been regarded as normal within a particular community were sufficiently scrutinised.

The parliamentary inquiry is now seeking to establish how the school was managed, how concerns were dealt with internally and how effectively government agencies exercised oversight.

School representatives, including Jonathon Cannon and others associated with the institution, were invited to appear before the committee and respond to the allegations and questions about the school’s management. However, committee chair Abigail Boyd said she was disappointed after an attempt to compel an appearance through a summons was unsuccessful.

The school has been approached for a response to the allegations made by former students.

The inquiry’s work is likely to remain closely watched because it goes beyond individual claims and raises broader questions about how schools, religious institutions and government authorities should protect young people in environments where adults exercise significant authority.

For former students, the proceedings also represent an opportunity to have experiences that were once difficult to discuss placed on the public record. Their accounts have highlighted the importance of clear professional boundaries, transparent safeguarding procedures and independent oversight, particularly when children are participating in activities away from their families.

As the investigation continues, the central issue will be whether the systems surrounding Redeemer Baptist School were capable of recognising warning signs and responding appropriately. The evidence presented so far suggests that, for some former students, the impact of the school’s culture has extended well beyond their years in the classroom.