Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts (WHSPA) is being investigated after allegations of racism and bullying.
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The move follows a social media post from former student Juan Gomez, outlining Gomez's school experiences of what the student saw as racism, bullying and discrimination.
After many other former students of the school shared similar issues and concerns on the post, WHSPA responded.
In a letter to parents, the school addressed the Facebook allegations.
The principal, Paul Ryan, said he had contacted the Department of Education and asked that the allegations be investigated.
"The NSW Department of Education and the school take such allegations very seriously," he wrote.
"Students are encouraged to not contribute to the [Facebook] site and if they have any concerns or issues to report them directly to the school.
"Student and staff wellbeing is a priority and I encourage any community member affected by these allegations to seek support from the school.
"Counselling is available for students through the school counsellor and for staff through the EAP Support program."
The post in question outlined alleged instances of students suffering psychological abuse from staff.
It also accused staff of encouraging students to add racial stereotypes to their HSC pieces.
It also suggested certain members of the staff had body-shamed minors under their care many times.
On another occasion, it was claimed that a member of the staff continually misgendered a student and referred to him by their "dead-name" many times.
Gomez, who identifies as them/they did not mention WHSPA by name in the post but told the Mercury they were happy to speak out about Gomez's personal trauma at the school.
The 24-year-old started Year 11 at WHSPA in 2013, a year after arriving in Australia from Spain.
"Pretty soon I played the supporting role in The King and I by Rodgers and Hammerstein. I had some misgivings about playing a character from South East Asia," Gomez said.
"I wasn't okay with the fact they spray tanned white students to play Burmese/Thai characters in the musical (yellow-facing)."
Gomez, who now works in the musical theatre industry and lives in Queensland, said they were "scarred" after being expelled two days before their final HSC exam, even though they were able to complete exams.
"Despite these traumatic high school experiences I've been lucky to pursue a career in the performing arts in Australia.
"But the lack of diversity in the arts is a real problem. I wanted to share my story and hold people accountable for racism and discrimination."
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
