Lianne Penfold contacted The Leader on Tuesday amid reports that a 30-year-old former student at Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School was suing the State for more than $2 million in damages after attending the selective school between 1991 and 1996.

The former student, David Gregory, told the NSW Supreme Court this week he still had nightmares from his time at the school where students allegedly called him names such as “Nazi”, “pedophile”, “midget”, and “arse

bandit”.

Mrs Penfold, one of a number of parents and former Farrer students who have contacted The Leader since Tuesday’s story about Mr Gregory’s court action, said her son was a victim of bullying at Farrer until he left mid-way through 2007.

“Anyone would tell you my son is a bright, happy child who would go out of his way to avoid conflict,” Mrs Penfold said.

“Farrer made him a different person.

“We thought the selective school and all-boy environment with good role models would be good for him.

“That’s where he’d become a man in some ways, but he was very unhappy.

“At one stage he got suspended for fighting. All these versions of bullying forced my son to defend himself.

“It went right from Year 7 until he left and it will still be happening years into the future, I have no doubt about that.”

Mrs Penfold said her son would return home from school countless times with torn clothing and believed the bullying incidents stemmed from a rivalry between the day boys and the boarders.

“I asked him if he thought it was a “day boy, boarder thing” and he said “it definitely was”.

“It started when he saw some kids smoking and the kids threatened to bash him if he told a teacher.

“He never had friends over and he would come home from school and go to his room and stay there.”

She said she enrolled her son at a Tamworth co-educational school where he was no longer bullied and excelling academically. Now she believes a stronger form of punishment has to be put in place to combat bullying.