15 year old Jai Morcom died on August 29 after a vicious attack at Mullumbimby High School on Friday.

12 months ago School Angels held an Anti-violence Forum which heard from teachers, RailCorp, police, parenting groups and child behaviour experts that gang culture was worsening in NSW but many victims were not reporting it. Representatives from the Education Department were also invited and aggressively denied that there was any increase in violent behaviour, arguing with the other delegates. These denials came at a time when the NSW Government were sending Principals on a half-day training course that teaches them how to deal with threats to teachers and students in the classroom.

Teachers have also faced an escalation in the number of incidents involving students bringing weapons into the classroom, prompting calls for crisis intervention to address the problem.

New figures show 400 suspensions were given to students caught with firearms or knives in school last year.

Someone was going to get hurt and out of all of the people, it was Jai. He didn't deserve this. Anyone who's a bit different gets picked on.

The data has triggered calls by the State opposition for an urgent increase in the number of school counsellors available, to identify and engage in crisis intervention with students at risk.

In March this year three Sydney teenage boys were arrested over a machete armed rampage that caused over $30,000 damage and forced Trinity Catholic College, Auburn in western Sydney into lockdown. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that four teenage boys, armed with machetes and a tomahawk, stormed into the Auburn school just after 8am, terrorising staff and students.

In 2008 five teenagers brandishing baseball bats and machetes rampaged through Merrylands High School and hit a teacher over the head, police said. Eighteen students were treated for minor injuries.

At Mullumbimby High School Jai Morcom's friends have said violence and bullying was "out of control" and something had to be done. "This was the last straw," friend Shay Campbell, 14, said. "Someone was going to get hurt and out of all of the people, it was Jai. He didn't deserve this. Anyone who's a bit different gets picked on."

Jai died in Gold Coast Hospital on Saturday after suffering severe head injuries in a fight that witnesses say began over a stolen seat during morning recess on Friday.

Schools are no longer the safe place the NSW Education Department claims. They are becoming more and more out of control with not only students contacting School Angels with stories of violent attacks and bullying but also teacher who are being bullied by aggressive students. The Education Department needs to stop it's culture of denial and face this problem head on with parents and the community. In Australia we are not far now from the types of mass shootings we hear about in America.

Tags: bullying, education department, jai morcom, Mullumbimby High School, school violence