Newington College co-ed decision: Ex-judge investigates legality of move

The legality of Newington’s contentious decision to go co-ed is being scrutinised by an ex-judge who studied at the school and does not support the move. Meanwhile, there are rumours girls’ fees will be lower.

Newington College has been told a former judge who attended the elite private school is investigating whether its controversial decision to go co-ed is illegal.

The warning is understood to have been delivered in a meeting between former students and headmaster Michael Parker on Tuesday night, at which the school was also advised that it was opening itself up to other legal action over the plan to end more than 160 years of single-sex education in 2026.

The school has yet to say how many girls will join. On Wednesday rumours emerged that their fees will be lower than boys’. Newington did not refute this.

Opposition to the co-ed move is growing, with 970 people backing a Change.org petition in protest as of 6pm on Wednesday.

In a comment on the petition, Peter Prilis, who has a son in the Newington primary school and another enrolled to attend, said: “We signed up for a boys’ school and this choice has been taken away from us with no parent input whatsoever”.

Newington College headmaster Michael Parker with students. Source: newington.nsw.edu.au

Marian Beydoun wrote: “I am a parent of two boys at Newington … it’s time for the College to focus … on improving their poor grades instead of trying to keep up with the latest fashion trends.”

David Philips said: “I have two sons at the school. Luckily one will finish before this nonsense starts. When I enrolled my sons it was primarily because it was a GPS (Great Public Schools) boys’ school. Doesn’t this unilateral change, after entering an agreement with the school, amount to a breach of contract?”

The chair of a large ‘old boys’ group, Peter Johnston said he believed the school was “being degraded by wokes.”

Another signatory to the petition wrote: “There will be a protest against this nonsense! Stay updated for dates and times.”

A father of current students, who contacted The Telegraph, said the parents “who don’t want co-ed have been misled”.

“It’s a failure of governance and process,” he said.

Parents did not get to vote on whether to go co-ed.

In a note to parents on Tuesday night, Newington College Council chairman Tony McDonald said 221 registrations for girls had been received on Monday – “32 of the from Old Newingtonians delighted they are now able to give their daughters or granddaughters a Newington education along with their sons and grandsons”.

It had also received 48 emails in support of the decision and 20 against.

Newington College Council chairman Tony McDonald. Source: newington.nsw.edu.au

One of the recipients of the note said “what most old boys are concerned about is that apparently after 18 months and hundreds of hours of consultation the college council has been unable to articulate any reason for the change other than diversity and inclusion”.

“The school costs almost $40,000 a year. To suggest it’s committed to ‘inclusion’ is almost laughable,” the old boy said.

The question about the legality of going co-ed stems from the school, in its current form, being created by an Act of NSW parliament in 1922.

In a statement to the Telegraph, Mr McDonald said “the College is gladly engaging in constructive dialogue with our community, but your questions have either already been answered or are speculative and not matters we could responsibly be drawn into.

“The majority of our community shares our excitement about the future direction of the school and the benefits this will deliver to current and future students and families,” Mr McDonald said.