LAKE Bolac P-12 College principal George Porter said he was not surprised by statistics which reveal high instances of bullying, threats and violence for people in the profession. The Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing survey revealed principals, assistant principals and deputy principals experienced higher levels of offensive behaviour at work than the general population. Instances of adult on adult bullying was 4.3 times higher than the general population. Threats of violence was 5.9 times higher than the general population. Principals and their assistant and deputy counterparts experienced actual violence eight times more than the general population. The survey also revealed principals’ negative measures of wellbeing were higher than the general average. Principals revealed they felt more burnt-out, stressed, depressed and experienced trouble sleeping. The statistics revealed principals self-rated health, happiness, mental health, sense of coping, relationships, self-worth and personal wellbeing, were all lower than the population average. Mr Porter, who has been principal at Lake Bolac for the past 12 months, said he had formed professional networks that were of great benefit in overcoming some of the pressures faced by school leaders. “Especially in a small country school like Lake Bolac,” he said. “Moving to Lake Bolac I made a deliberate effort to maintain the principal networks I had established. “It becomes very easy to take things on yourself and quickly get overwhelmed when you’re in a relatively geographically isolated location.   “It’s important that you have those people to talk to.” He said expectations on principals were high. “There is a high level of expectation from the school community as well as the wider community,” he said. “I enjoy the challenge of being a principal. People get very emotional about their children and their education and that often comes out in my dealings with them. “It’s about working with parents towards good outcomes for their children because ultimately that’s what we’re there for.” Mr Porter said winning the support of staff and students at a school and the community it served was crucial to being a success as a principal. “It does depend on the community and the school, how they accept you and how you embrace them,” he said. “I’ve been very lucky at Lake Bolac. It’s a great school and a great community.”