Indigenous poet Ellen van Neerven abused by year 12 English students

Writer faces racist and vulgar posts on Facebook after her poem Mango is used as a sample text in Year 12 exam

The head of the New South Wales education standards authority has said he is “appalled” after an Australian poet became the target of online abuse from high school students because one of her pieces was used in end-of-year exams.

Ellen van Neerven, an Indigenous writer and poet who won the prestigious David Unaipon Award in 2013, became the unwitting target of angry school students on Monday after one her poems, Mango, was used as a sample text in the New South Wales year 12 higher school certificate English exam.

The poem, and question. pic.twitter.com/qOR1h2NK72

Students "venting" about Ellen must already know that "venting" is chatting to your friends, not @-ing an author on their personal accounts.

These are not children, they are young adults who are presumably meant to go on to university after this exam. They are clearly unprepared.