Brisbane Boys’ College bombshell: ‘Old boy’ secretly courted as new principal months ago

The PMSA secretly began discussions with their preferred new principal for the beleaguered Brisbane Boys’ College months before the existing head resigned.

The recruitment for Brisbane Boys College’s new principal was said to have begun months ago.

The hunt for a replacement principal at the beleaguered Brisbane Boys’ College is believed to have ended months before outgoing head Paul Brown resigned and the school’s governing body advertised for the position.

Information obtained exclusively by The Courier-Mail alleges the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association had been speaking with their preferred candidate – believed to be an interstate-based BBC old boy – for a number of months before Mr Brown announced his departure in February.

The PMSA publicly advertised for a new principal in newspapers on March 6, but the recruitment process has been labelled “a farce” by school insiders.

Brisbane Boys College headmaster Paul Brown has announced his resignation.

Leading Brisbane recruiters also say they have been blindsided by the PMSA’s “highly irregular approach” to appoint a psychologist to publicly field applications rather than any of Brisbane’s recruitment firms.

Meanwhile, rich and powerful old boys are said to have been lobbying behind the scenes for their preferred candidate.

The Courier-Mail understands a leading Brisbane recruitment agency was initially invited to interview for the task of replacing Mr Brown, who BBC sources say was unfairly pushed by the PMSA to resign.

Agency representatives said they were told by a senior PMSA staffer that the preferred candidate had already been found and negotiations with that person had been going on since late 2020.

The PMSA subsequently appointed new company Raw Business Psychology to solely handle applications for the head role.

The sole-trader company was set up in March by psychologist Rebecca Williams and the BBC head role is the only job on its books.

The Courier-Mail does not suggest any unprofessionalism by Ms Williams.

PMSA group CEO Sharon Callister said there had been strong interest in the position.

“We do not have any preferred candidate for the future role of headmaster at BBC,” Ms Callister said.

She said the PMSA had been drawing on the expertise of its governance officers and executive, and “actively seeking feedback from our broader BBC community including parents, staff and old collegians” in the recruitment process.