A Scientology-linked primary school in Melbourne’s outer east has rebranded itself, erasing any public acknowledgment of the controversial religion while still using teaching methods developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Earlier this year, Mooroolbark Grammar opened as a small new school on the site once occupied by Yarralinda, which used to disclose its use of Hubbard’s “Applied Scholastics” curriculum. The new Mooroolbark Grammar instead advertises links to a Montessori early education program taught on site, prompting concerns the school is using that as cover to hide its Scientology background to prospective parents.
Screenshots from the Mooroolbark Grammar website. The primary school was formerly Yarralinda, which was linked to Scientology, before it rebranded early in 2022. It claims that there is a widespread “hidden illiteracy” problem in society and that one of the main barriers for students is misunderstanding words. One of the simplistic techniques they use is to encourage students to look up definitions of words they don’t understand in the dictionary.
In March last year, Agosta’s brother uploaded a video to Facebook showing the pair handing out booklets for the Foundation for a Drug-Free World International, an American foundation sponsored by the Church of Scientology. “It’s right through the entirety of Scientology that kids are responsible for their behaviour. They were old beings in young bodies and could do any job required of them as they’d already done them in some of their past lives over the last quadrillions of years.”, covering up multiple sexual assaults, forced labour and other abuses in a legal claim lodged in Florida against Scientology leader David Miscavige and five Church-related organisations.