Australian terrorism police investigate high school student

Counter-terrorism police are investigating a Sydney high school after allegations that a pupil has been preaching extremist Islamist views in the playground, local media reported on Friday.

The school in the upper middle class suburb of Epping has further raised fears that Islamic State-inspired radicalism is spreading in the New South Wales (NSW) school system.

Police told News Corp that the situation in Sydney schools is worsening and revealed the investigation into Epping High School and the 17-year-old student alleged to have been preaching extremism.

The school was first alerted last week when a Muslim mother reported that her son told her about the allegedly extremist student of Afghan heritage who was preaching religious sermons in the playground.

Police were also alerted after a call was made to the National Security Hotline complaining about the student.

Detectives are investigating whether the boy delivered the sermons, which have since stopped, under the auspices of an officially recognized program of religious instruction administered by the school.

Under the program, Muslim students and community leaders conduct prayer sessions with students.

Australian police believe the boy has twice tried to travel to Syria, once in 2013 and a second time last May.

He was stopped at airport both times.

NSW Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch confirmed the investigation to News Corp.

"We are conducting an investigation into an allegation that a young man is attempting to influence students in his school to adopt his extremist views," Murdoch said.

In March, NSW police detained two students from the elite Sydney Boys High School in the inner-Sydney Moore Park as they prepared to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State. Endi