Principal Mark Linden has spoken to 3AW, responding to claims that senior Don Bosco Catholic Primary School students have been banned from interacting with members of the opposite gender on the playground, claiming the school was focusing on “certain groups”.

This follows calls to the station from two parents earlier this morning, voicing their anger regarding information given to grade five and six school children during a school assembly that students were to be segregated by gender during school breaks.

A concerned parent, Bill*, told 3AW that he only found out about the new rule from his 11-year-old son, with the school yet to inform parents of the change.

Another parent told the Herald Sun that it was a “love triangle” between students that provoked the school into action.

Bill told 3AW that “two members of one gender haven’t been behaving at recess and in classrooms, so the grade five and six groups have been tarred with the same brush.”

Linden told 3AW that “it was about trying to deal with playground issues” of problems that were “gender based”, instead of segregating the entire cohort.

Child psychologist, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell that “it is a possible violation of the UN declaration on the rights of the child”.

Upstart has contacted Don Bosco Primary School for comment.

*name has been changed for privacy reasons.