Newington College hikes fees by $3000 — to $42,000 a year

Many parents of Newington College are still coming to terms with the prestigious school’s decision to go co-ed. Now they’ve rocked by a larger than expected fee increase.

Under-fire Newington College will raise its annual tuition fees by nearly nine per cent in 2024 to as much as $42,000.

“This is a significant increase in comparison to previous years,” Newington Council chairman Tony McDonald said on Wednesday in a note to parents, many of whom are still reeling from the 160-year-old school’s recent move to go co-ed.

Mr McDonald blamed the increase on heftier teacher salaries and other rising costs.

He revealed Newington recently decided to increase its teachers’ pay by eight per cent effective immediately.

“We value the incredible contribution our teaching and operational staff make to the success of your child’s education,” he said.

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

“Teachers are by far and away the biggest factor in the success of any school and we are determined to both attract and retain the best staff at Newington.”

The other expenses that had increased significantly were cybersecurity, insurance and energy bills.

Meanwhile government funding was decreasing, he added.

“We are … fully aware that it has been a challenging year for some families and inflationary pressures have strained household budgets in a very real way, so increasing fees at this time has been a difficult decision to make,” Mr McDonald said.

Fees for a year 12 boy will rise by 8.55 per cent from $38,884 this year to $42,201 in 2024.

Kindergarten costs will escalate at the same rate, from $22,471 to $24,390.

The scale of Newington’s increase is comparable to some other private schools in Sydney, with Waverley College imposing a nine per cent rise.

Newington College at Stanmore. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

That said, Waverley College will still be charging less than half what Newington does.

Bellevue Hill boys’ school Cranbrook became the state’s most expensive private school recently after announcing it would raise fees by a 11 per cent for next year, asking families to fork out up to $46,000 annually.The King’s School at North Parramatta is adding just five per cent to its 2024 tuition costs. But that will still set back parents $43,560 for a year 12 boy.

Earlier this month, Newington announced it would enrol girls from 2026. The move has angered a large number of parents and ‘old boys’, who believe the school has taken away their choice for a single-sex education for their sons.

A Change.org petition gathering support to overturn the decision has 2160 signatures.