Police contacted over school rugby tour

Methodist College Belfast have said disciplinary action had since been taken

Methodist College Belfast says it took disciplinary action and contacted the police after a complaint about incidents on a school rugby trip to Portugal.

A former pupil at the school was last week awarded more than £50,000 in a civil case in the wake of the training camp.

The family of Gabriel McConkey, now 19, say he was left "traumatised" after "degrading" videos were recorded of him on the trip in December 2022.

He was in lower sixth when it is alleged that older pupils forced him and others to run naked around the resort they were staying in.

Gabriel McConkey was awarded £50,000 in a civil case

It is his case that they then used the video to coerce him into having his head shaved.

It is also his case that he was forced to witness other boys as they were coerced into performing an act on a sex toy.

BBC News NI asked Methodist College a number of questions about what happened.

The school confirmed police had been contacted in the wake of the tour but did not say whether it was the authorities in Northern Ireland or Portugal.

The school said disciplinary action had been taken but did not elaborate on the details.

A spokesperson for Methodist College said: "A claim for compensation was brought by Mr McConkey and was settled with the school's insurers.

"The fact that these incidents occurred during downtime following training sessions and during sleeping hours has caused the school to review and improve its supervision procedures.

"Updated supervision procedures have been in place in the two years since these incidents occurred, and to the school's knowledge, there has been no recurrence of any such incidents."

The person in charge of the 2022 trip is still involved in rugby at the school.

Methodist College says pastoral support was made available during and after the trip.

The statement sent to BBC News NI did not contain an apology to Mr McConkey, who was 17 at the time of the incidents.

A social media account which publishes details about the school's rugby matches last week used the slogan "For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother."

Asked if this was appropriate, the spokesperson said: "No. The post has been deleted."

A schools spokesperson claimed this social media post was deemed inappropriate

After the civil case was settled on Wednesday, Mr McConkey's mother, Sian Mawhinney, told BBC News NI that her son was "absolutely broken" when he returned from the trip in December 2022.

"Gabriel came back from this trip a totally different child than the one that we sent away, and I think no mother expects these events to take place on a school trip," she said.

"They expect their children to be looked after and to be supervised, and obviously something went terribly wrong," she added.

"He was traumatised by it."

She said she was "incredibly proud" of her son.

"He is an amazing person because he has a really strong sense of justice," she said.

In a statement, Ulster Rugby, which runs the annual Schools' Cup competition, said it acknowledged the settlement made.

"What is reported does not align with the values of rugby, or the behaviours we expect from those involved in the game," it added.

"This is an issue for Methodist College Belfast, but we will be engaging with the school to ensure we promote rugby as an inclusive and enjoyable game for all."