A Year 10 student at an exclusive Melbourne private school suffered a lacerated spleen when he was punched by a classmate carrying out a "birthday bashing" last week.
The 16-year-old boy spent his birthday in the Royal Children's Hospital after two of his classmates at Xavier College in Kew ambushed him from behind a bush, and one inflicted a heavy blow to his body.
Principal, Dr Chris Hayes, confirmed the boy suffered a lacerated spleen, a potentially fatal injury, during the assault last Tuesday.
Dr Hayes said he had written to all parents at the college and held an assembly with Year 9 and 10 students to stamp out the dangerous and unruly behaviour.
"What I have been aware of is that on a student's birthday a lot of the boys go up and may ruffle his hair and say 'Happy birthday' or give him a few short punches, but what we had happen last Tuesday went far too far," Dr Hayes told radio 3AW.
"We had two boys who hid behind a bush. It was a Year 10 boy's birthday and one of the boys jumped out from behind the bush, grabbed him and threw him to the ground and another boy came up and punched him quite severely, severe to the extent that it caused a lacerated spleen and he had to go to hospital."
Dr Hayes said it was unclear how many punches the boy had thrown, but there had been at least one.
The injured boy immediately felt unwell, and sought treatment at the school's first aid room.
His mother was called and he was taken to hospital, where the seriousness of his condition was diagnosed.
The college consulted its police liaison officer, and Dr Hayes said it was unclear if any charges would be laid against the boy, also a Year 10 student.
Dr Hayes said the school had organised a meeting between the boy responsible for the attack, his parents and the parents of the injured boy on Friday night.
"The idea of this is for the perpetrator to take full responsibility for his actions, express real remorse and through a genuine, heartfelt apology look for ways to heal the hurt," he said.
"It was a very, very powerful meeting to be a part of."
Dr Hayes said the boy was struck by the seriousness of his actions when he saw "the exhausted faces of his mother and father and realised the pain that had occurred, not just for their son but for the whole family".
The college's investigation into the incident is continuing and Dr Hayes said the boy's punishment had not yet been determined.
The latest incident is not the first public humiliation for the college, which charges more than $20,000 in fees annually for students in the senior years.
In July last year, four boys were expelled after being caught shoplifting on a school trip in New Zealand. Three years ago an entire year 12 was suspended after a rampage on muck-up day.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the bashing had not been officially reported to police, and was therefore not a police matter