General News
10 March, 2026
School violence triggers concern
VIOLENT incidents triggering multiple lockdowns at Mareeba State High School since the beginning of the year have parents up in arms and worried about the welfare of their children.
Parents took to Facebook after the school got locked down on 24 February, calling for more action to protect students and a meeting to discuss the current situation.
Numerous parents and past students replied to the post to talk about their experiences, and many suggested those who were concerned should attend the P&C meeting this Wednesday from 5.30pm.
“Recently, there have been multiple incidents at our local high school involving groups of students fighting, resulting in injuries to both students and teachers. These situations are deeply concerning for families, staff, and the wider community,” a parent with two children at both public schools in Mareeba wrote.
“Many of us are asking the same questions: why are students involved in violent incidents being allowed to return to school; what safety measures are currently in place; what consequences and support systems exist; and how can we ensure a safe learning environment for everyone?
“I believe every student deserves a safe school. I also believe in accountability, transparency, and clear communication from school leadership.
“I feel that emails sent out after lockouts stating that details cannot be released is a cop out. Our children’s safety is our highest priority and we deserve a proper detailed explanation when these incidents occur.”
Many parents posted that the public schools were not doing enough about bullying which, they say, has been going on for many years and had prompted some parents to move their children to private schools.
“My daughter was bullied so bad that I involved the police, no one at the school did anything and the police just passed it back off to the school – no one wants to deal with it,” one parent wrote.
“I went to this school years ago, it was the reason I could not finish high school,” another person posted.
“I was forced to drop out and go down another path due to poor education – also due to the behaviours in the school. I was repeatedly bullied the whole time I was at the school, four years.
“I hated school, I couldn’t even get up each day to go. They always let me down when I would go to them for help.”
“I was a former student here, I was relentlessly bullied by people for the last three years I was at this school - I always brought it up but minimal action occurred, no suspensions or anything,” another person wrote.
“It got to the point where bullies were violent … I’ve had to make police reports because of bullying because nothing ever got done.”
After a lockdown on 5 February, during which a teacher was assaulted trying to protect a child, The Express asked the Department of Education as to how common incidences of violence were against staff and teachers.
The data revealed that 13 incidents had been reported from Mareeba High last year, while Mareeba State School recorded 64 in 2025 – a sharp rise from the 25 reported in the previous year.
A spokesperson advised that the reports included “verbal abuse (such as a student swearing at a teacher) or ‘near miss incidents’ in which no physical harm occurred”.
“The department strongly encourages staff to report any Workplace Health and Safety incident, including near misses and incidents where no harm occurred,” the spokesperson said.
“While this naturally leads to increases in the number of reports, collecting this level of information is vital so that the department is aware of incidents and can take action where required.”
One parent who posted to Facebook said because appropriate action was not taken at primary school, high school students knew there would be little or no consequences if they showed aggressive behaviour towards staff or other students.
“The groundwork for the issues at the high school is starting at the primary school and by the time the kids hit the high school, they are fully aware there is little or no long lasting repercussions for unacceptable behaviour,” she wrote.
“Change has to come from within the schools…parents can whinge all they like but the teachers and staff need to be lobbying to the department for change.
“Many parents would support them but they have to be making the noise to get something done. The current situation obviously isn’t working, everyone has a story. The education system is broken.”
