Former students of Sydney's Redeemer Baptist School have testified before a New South Wales parliamentary committee about inappropriate practices, including teachers sharing beds with students during school trips and a principal walking naked in common areas. Edward Garth described an incident where he saw the principal, Jonathon Cannon, walking naked through the living room. Emma Hughes recounted mandatory bed-sharing arrangements between students and teachers to save space during holidays and camps, emphasizing that such practices blurred typical boundary expectations in educational settings. The inquiry is examining the school’s management and oversight by government bodies, with officials revealing 15 significant harm notifications since 2004 but no resulting field assessments.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
During hearings into Redeemer Baptist School in North Parramatta, Sydney, former students testified about inappropriate practices. On the third day of the inquiry, Emma Hughes, a former student who was not part of the church community, revealed that during mandatory school camps in 1998, she and other students were required to share beds with teachers due to insufficient space. Despite nothing untoward happening to her personally, Hughes described the practice as "clearly inappropriate and unsafe." Another former student, Edward Garth, testified that at age 12 he witnessed the principal, Jonathan Cannon, walking naked through a common area during a study-stay arrangement, an incident he reported but faced criticism from adults within the community for doing so.
Written for “School Bed Sharing Inquiry” on 2026-10-12,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
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No political leaning scored for article 73419 · logged 2026-10-12
Teens at a private religious school were made to share beds with teachers, while its principal once wandered through a common area naked, former students claim.
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students → make → area
A NSW parliamentary inquiry on Monday was told of the disturbing allegations from two former students of western Sydney’s Redeemer Baptist School.
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inquiry → tell → School
Edward Garth, 23, said he was shunned after “escaping” the broader Redeemer community in November.
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he → say → November
He told the committee about a study-stay during school holidays when he slept in the same building as principal and church elder Jonathon Cannon.
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he → tell → Cannon
“I remember one night before dinner, I was in the kitchen getting a drink,” Garth said.
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Garth → remember → drink
“As I walked into the living room, which was my bedroom at the time, I saw [Cannon], my principal, walk out of the bathroom into the living room naked before heading to his room.
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Cannon → walk → room
“He was startled, and when they saw me, he ran to his room.
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he → startle → room
I don’t know why he didn’t cover himself with a towel.”
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he → know → towel
Garth said he reported the incident, but it got back to Cannon, the principal’s brother Noel and the then-pupil’s own parents, who scolded him.
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who → say → him
Former student Emma Hughes told the inquiry the culture inside the school left much for students to “untangle” as adults.
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students → tell → adults
School camps, away from parents, were especially anxiety-inducing.
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camps → induce → parents
On occasion, a student would have to share a bed with teachers in a caravan park or school-owned cabins to save space, she said.
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she → have → space
Her submission stated nothing untoward happened to her during the stays.
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nothing → state → stays
“Usually, the student would be a community member, which in itself says they knew maybe they shouldn’t be doing it,” she said.
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she → say → it
“But I recall when I was in year 6, I would share a bed with [a] teacher, and in an effort to be fair, she made it so we would rotate every night … so that we all didn’t have to.”
Staff, often known by kinship titles like “uncle”, regularly crossed conversational boundaries, Hughes said.
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Hughes → recall → boundaries
“Often, personal things were discussed in very public matters,” she said.
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she → discuss → matters
“The nature of boundaries is really something which is not particularly, I believe, understood by staff at Redeemer in the way we understand it in most school contexts.”
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we → believe → contexts
The school also had an emphasis on surveillance and “dobbing”, public humiliations and punishment, she said.
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she → have → surveillance
A boy and girl were made to stand on chairs in front of a year 7 class after teachers intercepted a love note, Hughes said of her time at the school.
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Hughes → make → school
Noel Cannon read the note to a collection of students before they were “dressed-down in front of four year groups and many teachers”, she said.
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she → read → groups
The parliamentary committee is investigating the management of the Parramatta-based school and oversight from government bodies.
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committee → investigate → bodies
The Communities and Justice Department received 15 risks of significant harm notifications since 2004 but they had not triggered a field assessment, an earlier response to questions on notice revealed.
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response → receive → notice
Cannon and other school representatives were invited to appear at the inquiry and state the school’s case.
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Cannon → invite → case
Committee chair Abigail Boyd said she was disappointed an attempted summons to appear went begging.
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summons → say → ?
AAP has contacted the school for comment on the students’ allegations.
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AAP → contact → allegations
The Aporia
