Teacher awarded $1.2m after 'feral' class

A former Melbourne teacher who suffered a breakdown after being forced to teach "feral" students has been awarded almost $1.3 million in damages.

A judge on Tuesday awarded Peter Doulis a further $510,000 for future earnings, and ordered the state to foot the bill for his legal costs.

The Victorian Supreme Court this month ordered the state to pay Mr Doulis $769,094 in damages for pain and suffering and lost wages.

Mr Doulis blames his stressful experience at Werribee Secondary College for his major depressive condition that has kept him out of the classroom for seven years.

Mr Doulis, 48, said he was allocated classes of "feral" students who were "impossible to teach".

Mr Doulis said fights broke out in his classroom and on one occasion he was forced to discipline one boy who had burnt another student with a flamethrower made from a deodorant can.

After breaking up a brawl between students on another occasion, a boy told him, "You're gone, I'm going to get you", and made a throat-slitting motion.

Mr Doulis said the school failed to act when he raised his concerns.

Werribee Secondary College denied Mr Doulis's allegations and argued he was not allocated an unduly heavy workload.

But Justice Tim Ginnane found the college failed to minimise the risk posed to Mr Doulis, who worked at the college between 1999 and 2004.

Justice Ginnane said Mr Doulis had changed from an active, bubbly person to a shell of a man.

Mr Doulis's lawyer, Michael Magazanik, said his client was now focused on trying to get better.

"There's no quick fixes here," he told reporters on Tuesday.

"This win doesn't immediately repair his mental health."