Brisbane Boys’ College principal Paul brown resigns after three years in the role

The principal of an elite Brisbane school that was embroiled in a recent scandal about an alleged gang bashing and sexting has resigned.

Brisbane Boys College in Toowong. Picture: AAP Image/Steve Pohlner

The principal of an elite Brisbane school that was embroiled in an alleged sexting and subsequent alleged gang bashing scandal has resigned.

Paul Brown, headmaster of Brisbane Boys’ College in Toowong, has quit after three years in the top job.

Mr Brown presided over the school’s controversial handling of the alleged scandals that resulted in four high-profile expulsions last September.

The expulsions were sensationally overturned after The Courier-Mail revealed parents of the four students had sued Mr Brown and the college for negligence in a $750,000 claim.

The school’s governing body, The Presbyterian and Methodist Schools’ Association, stepped in to allow the students to be privately tutored by BBC teachers off campus, beside the PMSA head office, before their return to school grounds this year.

Mr Brown’s departure comes just months after BBC council chair Mark Gray sent a blistering resignation letter expressing his concerns about the “strategic direction” of the PMSA.

Paul Brown, headmaster of Brisbane Boys’ College in Toowong, has quit after three years in the top job.

Acting BBC council chair Dr Bridget Cullen said Mr Brown would be stepping down at the end of 2021, “enabling him and his wife to return to his hometown of Sydney to be closer to family”.

“During his term as headmaster, Paul has overseen the development and progression of the college’s strategic direction, building on the college’s strong history of providing boys with a holistic education that prepares them to move confidently and capably into the world,” Dr Cullen wrote in a letter to parents.

“When informing me of his resignation, Paul stated: “It has been an absolute privilege to serve as headmaster of Brisbane Boys’ College.

A letter from Acting Chair of BBC Council Dr Bridget Cullen regarding Paul Brown stepping down as Headmaster of Brisbane Boys’ College. This letter has just been sent via email to the school community.

“The purpose of a BBC education is to prepare students for life beyond school; to lead lives of meaning and purpose. Our inspiring staff and supportive parents work together to make that vision a reality and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to lead the college in promoting that vision.”

Dr Cullen said Mr Brown told the BBC council that while he had enjoyed his time at the school, the challenges of the pandemic had “given him and his wife Karen cause to reflect upon their separation from family, leading them to make the decision to return to Sydney”.

Dr Cullen said Mr Brown had left a legacy of boys who would warmly recall him as their headmaster, including her own son.

She said the school was focused on its strategic ambition to “provide a world-class educational environment for boys from Prep to Year 12 within a caring, Christian environment”.

The PMSA and college council would immediately begin the process of searching for a suitability qualified replacement to lead BBC from 2022.