Australian teachers stood down for asking students to remove their pants

Southport School on the Gold Coast.
Southport School on the Gold Coast. Photo credit: Getty

Two teachers at a prestigious Australian all-boys school have been stood down after students were told to remove their pants during an activity.

The year 9 students from The Southport School on the Gold Coast, were on a school camp when the incident occurred last month.

Headmaster Greg Wain said they were taking part in an activity where students take off and throw a piece of clothing in a dark room and then work with each other to locate the items and return them to the owner.

The 'blackout challenge" was supervised by a teacher wearing night-vision goggles, ABC News reported.

But Wain said one of the teachers decided to increase the challenge by asking boys to each remove a shoe and their trousers.

The incident was brought to the attention of the school after parents expressed concern.

An external investigation is currently being conducted and students involved are being offered support.

"This changed activity was not authorised and, understandably, several boys objected to removing their trousers and doing the activity in their underpants," Wain said.

"Changing the activity and asking the boys to participate in their underpants was completely unacceptable. They should not have been placed in that situation.

"The boys were well within their rights to object."

In a statement obtained by ABC, the school said the two supervising teachers had been "stood aside" pending the outcome of the investigation.