Newington old boys have their say in school council vote

“Old boy” graduates of elite Sydney private school Newington College opposing their alma mater’s move to introduce girls have faced a crushing setback in their bid to halt co-ed.

‘Old boy’ graduates of elite Sydney private school Newington College opposing their alma mater’s move to introduce girls have faced a crushing setback in their bid to halt co-ed.

In a culmination of months of bitter infighting, tonight around a hundred members of the Old Newingtonians Union gathered in the college’s cavernous Centenary Hall to hear their newly elected president and his governing team would embrace coeducation and move on from the gender rift.

New ONU president Ed Miller, a 2008 graduate, won the council vote on a significant margin, claiming victory over ‘Save Newington College’ presidential nominee John Venetoulis by approximately 1480 votes to 1100.

In the immediate aftermath of the result, Miller told The Daily Telegraph he was a reluctant nominee who has a “new-found appreciation” for the pressure his school has been under over the decision.

Newington College old boys have voted in Ed Miller as the school council’s new president. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“The question (of this election) wasn’t about co-ed or not co-ed, it was about a small group of people acting … hostile to the school community,” Miller said.

“People who are against co-ed voted for me … Everyone said ‘let’s draw a line under this’.”

One old boy supporter of the Save Newington College campaign said the defeat would not mean the end of their fight, with legal action against the school ongoing.

“We’re going to sit back, regroup and decide what we do next,” he said.

“But it’s not the end, no way. This just makes things a lot longer and a lot harder.”
Spokesperson for the SNC ticket Ian Webster accused the College of unfairly advantaging the opposition, and criticised the interim council of past presidents for acting too slowly to convene the election.

Newington College Headmaster, Michael Parker.

“The vote showed that widespread dissatisfaction about the school’s direction exists across all generations, from recent graduates to parents and grandparents of current teenage students,” Mr Webster said.

“The Your ONU group had secretarial support from the college to a degree not afforded to the entirely volunteer SNC group,” he said.

“This resulted in various impediments to a “clean” voting procedure for those supporting the SNC group.

“In addition, the required vote was meant to occur within four weeks of the last Special General meeting, when the previous ONU Council was voted out, which has taken four months.”
Do you have a story for The Daily Telegraph? Message 0481 056 618 or email [e-mail]