The alleged attacker, a 37-year-old staff member according to the Victorian Principals Association, is accused of assaulting Keysborough Secondary College principal Aaron Sykes on its Acacia Campus school grounds about 3pm on Tuesday.
Police arrived at the school, in Melbourne’s outer southeast, within nine minutes of receiving the call for assistance.
The staff member was arrested at the school, with both men taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Department of Education confirmed that no students were involved in the incident.
According to Seven News, in a joint letter to the school community, Acacia campus principal Natalie Fode and the school’s Banksia Campus principal Richard Hastings said the college had spoken to Sykes and he was “recovering well and in good spirits”.
“Aaron was assisted by emergency services at the soonest opportunity and taken to hospital,” the letter read.
Education Minister Ben Carroll on Wednesday morning confirmed Sykes, who has been principal of the school since January 2024, had been discharged from hospital and is recovering at home.
He said the school had reopened, with student support officers on site to offer assistance to staff and students.
“My thoughts are with the school principal, his family and his friends that will all be suffering from what occurred with this very traumatic incident,” Carroll told reporters.
“The school took all the appropriate measures, the staff acted promptly, and there’s now an investigation under way. I’m just so grateful that the principal is at home and recovering.”
Carroll confirmed the alleged assault was carried out by a staff member and said no students witnessed the incident.
In a statement, police said “at this stage investigators believe the people involved are known to each other”.
Police have since charged the 37-year-old man with multiple offences including unlawful assault, intentionally causing injury and recklessly engage in conduct placing a person in danger of serious injury.
He has since been released from hospital after suffering a minor injury.
The man will appear before Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
In their statement, Fode and Hastings said support was in place for any student or staff member impacted by the incident.
Any form of violence would not be tolerated, they said.
“We are proud of the safe and supportive culture that is the norm at our school.”
“We want to assure you that the health and safety of our students and staff is always our highest priority.”
(with AAP)
