A prestigious NSW boarding school wracked by abuse claims is again at the centre of a police investigation into sexual assaults.
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Detectives are looking into allegations of historical sexual abuse perpetrated by two teachers against students during the 1960s at The Armidale School (TAS) in northern NSW.
Armidale Detective Senior Constable Travis Murdock said police were pursuing claims against a maths teacher known on school records as L.A. Gardiner, who worked at the New England private school between 1964 and 1967.
He said the allegation, which surfaced through the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse in 2013, related to the sexual assault of a male student on school grounds.
Senior Constable Murdock said it was believed Mr Gardiner was living in South Australia.
He said police were also investigating an allegation of sexual assault by a former teacher known on school records as J Holmes, who worked at the school during the same period.
Senior Constable Murdock said Mr Holmes was believed to have returned to England, where he is originally from.
"If anyone has any information regarding the allegations against either gentleman and wants to come forward to police, we'd be happy to speak to them," he said.
A school spokesperson said the school was assisting police with the historic sexual abuse allegations.
"We are deeply sorry that some alumni are haunted by painful memories of injustices and abuse from the past. While it is not appropriate or in any victim’s best interest for the school to comment publicly on specific allegations, the school takes any allegations very seriously and will refer matters to the police whenever it is appropriate to do so," the spokesperson said.
The police appeal follows charges laid against former TAS duty housemaster Jacob Charles Woods, 36, who is accused of raping an 11-year-old boy while working at the school in 2001.
The Tamworth man, who was employed to supervise boarders during his late teens, is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault and one of aggravated indecent assault against a person under 16 years.
His December 17 arrest came three months after a 25-year-old woman, who legally cannot be named, was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence for having sex with five male students, aged 15 to 17, over a period of several months during 2014 and 2015 while she was employed at the GPS school.
This publication is not suggesting the two cases are linked.
In a December 27 letter to the school community, TAS headmaster Murray Guest urged past students to come forward with other potential claims against Mr Woods, despite being unaware “of there being any other past students involved in these specific allegations”.
“But I appeal directly to our alumni body to please come forward and let us know if you, or someone else you know, may have been a victim,” Mr Guest said.
Mr Woods has not been accused of abusing anybody else. The Sydney Morning Herald has since become aware that, as a result of Mr Guest's letter, other alumni have approached the school with allegations of physical abuse by different ex-staff.
The criminal proceedings against Mr Woods make it the third scandal involving allegations of sexual abuse to hit the school in more than a decade, following the 2007 arrest of English teacher Jeremy Roberts, who later pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography, which did not involve students.
In his December letter Mr Guest said the school remained "vigilant against all forms of inappropriate behaviour" and that it was important for students to know to tell someone immediately if anyone makes them feel uncomfortable.
