Girl is BANNED from bringing a young woman to her Year 12 school formal at a $33,000-a-year private school
- Haileybury College has banned same-sex formal dates if they aren’t dating
- The Melbourne private school banned a female student from inviting another girl
- The invitee left Haileybury in 2020 was invited by a year 12 girl to the formal
- The 2020 graduate did not have a formal last year due to COVID-19 restrictions
- A spokesperson said same-sex partners were accepted if in a relationship
- The 2020 graduate’s mother had the $125 ticket revoked to Thursday’s formal
- A spokesperson said they wanted the students to enjoy a ‘traditional’ experience
A Melbourne private school has come under scrutiny after it banned a female student from bringing another girl to her formal.
Haileybury College revoked the $125 ticket of the 2020 graduate who was invited by a current year 12 student to her formal this Thursday at the Sofitel in Melbourne.
It comes after her formal was cancelled last year due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The school revoked her ticket saying that students are not allowed to have a same-sex partner invited unless they are in a relationship. The two are not in a relationship but are friends.
Haileybury College, Melbourne has revoked a formal ticket after a female student invited another girl
The Herald Sun reported that the school allow students who had ‘approved’ same-sex relationships to attend and said the school took a ‘dates not mates’ approach.
A spokesperson from Haileybury College told the Daily Mail Australia that the school wanted their students to enjoy the ‘traditional’ experience.
‘The rule across the board is that we want students to experience the tradition of taking a date to the formal,’ they said.
The spokesperson said the school has allow for same-sex partners for some time.
‘The school has allowed same-sex partners for 13 years, it’s absolutely allowed.’
They said if students do not have a partner they are able to take friends that attend Haileybury College.
Despite the retrograde approach the spokesperson for Haileybury College said they had few complaints.
‘We haven’t received any complaints from the parents except for this one student and we’re hosting about 600 at this formal.’
The 2020 graduate’s mother wrote a letter to the school explaining her disappointment, the Herald Sun reported.
A spokesperson for the school said the students have been allowed to take same-sex partners to the formal for the past 13 years despite one student being told she can’t take another girl
‘In this day and age of inclusivity I find it extremely disappointing for Haileybury to take this stance and knowing it is an ex-Haileyburian who was in the only year of students to miss out on any formal that you would not be excited for her to be able to experience one,’ the Herald Sun reported.
The 2020 graduate’s sister attended the school until 2013, said the ruling may force unnecessary pressure on gay students, the Herald Sun reported.
‘What happens if you are a girl or a boy who is gay and haven’t come out and you have to get permission from the school and tell the parents when you may not be ready to do so?’ she said.
Last year’s graduate was planning on wearing the dress she had bought for last year’s formal before it was cancelled, the Herald Sun reported.
She also had an appointment booked for her hair and was looking for a make-up artist when her ticket was revoked.
The spokesperson for Haileybury said the formal on Thursday will be host 600 students and is the first time that the boys and girls formal will be combined.
The formal on Friday will host 600 students and is the first time the boys and girls formal will be combined
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