Parents and former students from Newington, a prestigious all-boys school in Sydney, have expressed concerns over transitioning from single sex to co-education.
Newington College, the all-boys school in Stanmore, announced on 20 November the college would become a co-educational school by 2033, which some parents have said is informed by “LGBT, freemasonic and communist ideologies”.
A “proud member” of Newington College in Sydney created a petition on change.org, which has acquired more than 1,800 signatures objecting to the proposed changes.
“I have witnessed firsthand the unique culture that has been cultivated over generations,” wrote John Ramarque, the petition’s creator.
“This culture is being threatened by recent decisions made by our headmaster and council.
“The decision to make our school co-ed is not just a change in policy; it’s an erosion of our heritage.”
Ramarque said the college, which can charge up to $40,000 a year in individual school fees, has “always been a place for boys to grow into men, surrounded by their brothers”.
He suggested the 160 year old school becoming a co-educational institution risks losing the “potential benefit” of “improved academic performance and increased self-esteem among students”.
“Please sign this petition if you believe in preserving Newington’s heritage while ensuring its continued excellence for future generations,” Ramarque wrote.
More than 100 people commented on the petition, expressing their own concerns over the proposed change, which some said was announced with little to no consultation with the college community.
One person wrote: “Co-ed has failed already for the great majority of students, but this is political,” saying the changes should be seen as “LGBT, freemasonic and community ideologies… anti-life, anti-truth and as satanic.”
“Integrating the school is a means to hinder boys becoming leaders in society and future roles as fathers. Keep the school as it is,” said another.
“It is a school not a Disney movie!” a third wrote.
While Ramarque references a report from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) saying single sex schools can provide “potential benefits” for students, the council says “there is no value-add over time to being in a single-sex school compared to a coeducational school”
Potential legal issues
A group of parents from Newington College also sent a letter to the chair of the Newington College Council, Tony McDonald, protesting the move to go co-educational from a legal perspective.
According to reports from The Australian Financial Review (AFR), lawyers from Brown Wright Stein sent the letter on behalf of the parents, suggesting there may be legal issues with transitioning from a single-sex to co-educational school.
The parents and lawyers argued that while the school council, headed by McDonald, has the power to make certain changes to the college, Newington is ultimately run by rules of a trust that controls the property of the school itself.
It is in those rules that state the property of Newington should only be for educational purposes of young men and boys only.
“The college… was intended to be and has been a college… for the advancement of education of boys and young men,” the letter read.
“It was never contemplated that girls and young women would be educated at the college.
“As a result, any use of the property vested in the council [to educate girls] … may be a breach of trust.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Instagram @newingtoncollege_official