Outside the school on Wednesday morning, students told this masthead they were forced to hide during the lockdown.
“You know what you see in movies, in like America,” year 8 student Kerim said, standing beside a family member. “It’s just like one of those, but in real life, experiencing it.
Keysborough Secondary College was plunged into lockdown on Tuesday afternoon.Credit: Nine
“We were hiding for a good 20 minutes … until another alarm came out saying you can go outside. I felt relieved that nothing was going to happen.”
Back in court, police said Sloan soon found Ramchen again, rifling through a cutlery drawer in the kitchen. This time, he allegedly grabbed a 30-centimetre knife before he went into Sykes’ office and attacked him a second time, holding the weapon close to the principal’s face, the court heard.
Staff managed to restrain Ramchen, and police said he was lucky he sustained only non-serious cuts. The teacher later told police he “mentally snapped” and wanted to “completely incapacitate the principal”, the court was told.
“I’ve never been so angry in my life,” Ramchen allegedly said in a police interview.
Staff and students arriving at Keysborough Secondary College on Wednesday morning.Credit: Simon Schluter
The teacher’s older brother, Lev Ramchen, the self-proclaimed “parent” of the family – following their mother Jacqui Ramchen’s disappearance in 1992 and their father’s death in 2002 – said he and his brother’s wife were shocked by the alleged attack.
Kim Ramchen was charged with offences including assault and intentionally causing injury.
“[We are shocked] and bewildered,” Lev told the court. “It’s just out of character and come out of the blue for all of us.”
Ramchen was only four when his mother vanished; his father, Slavik Ramchen, had been suspected of having had a hand in his wife’s disappearance. He died in 2002 from pancreatic cancer after murder charges against him were dropped.
Parent Liz Tsareva, who said she barely slept after Tuesday’s incident.Credit: Simon Schluter
The now 37-year-old Kim Ramchen shares a three-year-old son with his wife and is the bread-winner of his family, Lev said. He said he suspected his brother was on the autism spectrum.
“Kim is a quiet person,” he said.
Lev, a commercial lawyer turned property investor, described their father as an overbearing person, and a “patriarch” – a very traditional man.
Magistrate Andrew Walker denied Ramchen bail on Wednesday afternoon.
Parent Doris Anati during school drop-off on Wednesday morning.Credit: Simon Schluter
The teacher said he felt a “tide of emotion” coming over him before Tuesday’s alleged attacks, the likes of which he’d never felt before, his lawyer said.
Keysborough Secondary College was plunged into lockdown about 3pm on Tuesday following the incident, forcing some students to hide under desks.
On Wednesday morning, Sykes was recovering at home as students arrived at the school in Melbourne’s south-east for classes as usual.
No children were involved in Tuesday’s alleged attacks.
Parent Liz Tsareva said her husband arrived to pick up their son from school, but the teenager told them he was hiding under a table. She said she barely slept that night.
“It’s horrible. Children should be safe in school,” Tsareva said. “I think the school should solve the problem.”
Another parent, Doris Anati, said she was scared after her daughter told her about the lockdown.
“At the moment, I’m calm now knowing it’s not an outsider coming into the school,” Anati said during school drop-off on Wednesday.
A staff briefing was held on Wednesday morning and wellbeing staff were on campus.Credit: Simon Schluter
In a letter to families, Acacia Campus principal Natalie Fode said Sykes was “recovering well and in good spirits given the circumstances”.
“The alleged perpetrator is with police and will not at any stage be back on school grounds,” Fode wrote in the letter.
Loading
“Any form of violence within our school is entirely unacceptable. We are proud of the safe and supportive culture that is the norm at our school.”
Sykes was formerly principal at Melba College, which The Age recognised with a Schools That Excel prize in 2021.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan described the incident as incredibly distressing.
“It’s horrifying for this to happen in any workplace, but for it to happen in a school is deeply horrifying,” Allan said.
Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.
