Nick Farr-Jones says he feels sorry for parents on the wait list as Newington College goes co-ed

Former Wallaby and Newington College student Nick Farr-Jones says he feels “sorry for anyone with their boy on the waitlist for a decade who might not now have certainty of a place,” after the elite school announced it was going co-ed.

Elite Sydney private school Newington College appears set to cut the intake of boys to enrol girls for the first time in its 160-year history after a lengthy review found “fewer young people are planning a single-sex education for their actual or anticipated children in the future”.

Newington – whose ex-students include chef Neil Perry, rugby greats Phil Kearns and Nick Farr-Jones, league star Cameron Murray and champion boxers Tim and Nikita Tszyu – told parents on Monday that following more than 18 months of deliberations it was excited to begin “a phased transition … which will see the college become fully co-educational by 2033.”

The move mirrors a decision by Kerry and James Packer’s alma mater, Cranbrook, taken last year, after agitation by billionaire Atlassian founder Scott Farquhar and others.

Newington chairman Tony McDonald said in his note that the school council had recognised “diversity, inclusiveness, belonging and life-readiness in today’s context is enhanced by giving boys and girls the opportunity to learn, think and thrive together”.

The first group of girls will enter kindergarten and year 5 at the Stanmore and Lindfield junior schools in 2026.

Rugby league star Cameron Murray attended Newington. Picture: Daniel Pockett for Getty Images

In a dedicated FAQ section on its website, Newington said “the overall size of the cohorts at our K-6 campuses will stay the same,” suggesting the number of boys being enrolled would decline.

In 2028, girls will join years 7 and 11 at Stanmore, where annual fees start at $35,782.

The year 7 class would grow from about 250 to 300, Newington said. It was unclear if there would be 50 girls or whether the intake of boys would be reduced.

The school declined to comment, other than to say it expected the numbers of girls to be “healthy”. Mr McDonald was not available to be interviewed.

Mr Farr-Jones, the Rugby World Cup-winning Wallaby captain, told The Telegraph he was a “bit agnostic” on the decision.

“I have two girls and two boys and I definitely know my tertiary college St Andrew’s is a better institution having had the girls join,” Mr Farr-Jones said.

Newington is one of Sydney’s most prestigious schools. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“That said I feel sorry for anyone with their boy on the waitlist for a decade who might not now have certainty of a place.

“The girls can definitely teach the boys teamwork and how to caucus better when it comes to learning and academia.”

The school told The Daily Telegraph it would not need to buy extra land or build on its ovals to cater for its growth.

“We gained approval to build under one of the ovals in 2014 but no decisions have been made about this,” it said.

Former Newington student and ex federal MP Trent Zimmerman, whose father was headmasters of the primary school, said: “I think it’s a great decision and there’s obviously a trend that we are seeing among all boy private schools”.

“It encourages a more respectful generation,” Mr Zimmerman said.

Leading psychologist and teenage behaviour expert Michael Carr-Gregg said: “I love the fact that they are going co-ed. It fosters a feeling of equality amongst students.

Nick Farr-Jones said he was ‘agoinostic’ about the decision.

“I think it promotes cooperation between the sexes and you get much better social and emotional competencies,” Dr Carr-Gregg said.

“I think there is (greater) mutual respect and understanding. It’s wonderful preparation for life beyond school.”

The school said “demographic trends” played a role in its decision to go co-ed, with data it reviewed suggesting “fewer young people are planning a single sex education for their actual or anticipated children in the future.”

However, it also noted “the decision has been made because we want to go co-ed, not because we need to. Applications for students to attend Newington remain very strong.”

Newington said it had undertaken “international and domestic benchmarking and investigations with schools that have and have not transitioned to co-education” but it declined to share details.

Research done for The Armidale School said a 2014 survey of six UK schools that had gone co-ed found the motivations for five included the “tightening enrolment market.”

“There was general agreement that … they simply could not afford to continue to neglect half the market.”

Dr Michael Carr-Gregg applauded the move. Picture: Supplied

The schools reported transition problems including having to confront “ingrained notions” such as “the pre-eminence of boys’ sport”. Also, “Boys perceive the girls are treated more favourably – this is common in coeducational schools”

“The importance of staff belief in the good sense of the introduction of coeducation was consistently reported as the most important factor in successful transition.

According to the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), evidence suggests girls who attend single-sex schools do better in maths and physics than in coeducational schools. “In the absence of boys, girls have also said they feel less constrained in engaging in classroom discussions.”

“For boys, their confidence levels in physics and mathematics are found to be equally high, and they engage in classroom discourse whether they are at an all boys’ school or not,” ARACY reported. “However, there is no consistent evidence to show that students – either boys or girls – achieve higher grades in single-sex than in coeducational settings.”

Newington said “some classes during the transition decade will remain all boys” and that it “will not take female borders.” It has 50 male borders.