Sydney Power 100: Where the city's most powerful people went to school

More than half of the debutants in this year’s Sydney Power 100 rankings went to public schools. See the full list of who went where.

More than half of the debutants in this year’s Sydney Power 100 rankings went to public schools.

The highest-ranked new entrant, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock, was a top student and captain at what is now Armidale Secondary College, which she visited last week, speaking with students and reconnecting with her 4-unit maths teacher.

One of the points she made during a Q&A with students was that today, economics “is typically studied by boys in private schools” in cities. The RBA wants to change that, she said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s partner Jodie Haydon, who joins the list at 23, also went through the public system at Kincumber High on The Central Coast.

“As the daughter of public school educators, I am really passionate about education and the transformative effect it can have on a child’s life and the benefits that can bring to our nation as a whole,” Ms Haydon told The Daily Telegraph.

Blaxland High School alumni: Olympians Jess Fox (left) and her sister Noemie Fox (right) and MP Melissa McIntosh. Picture: Supplied

The next highest ranked debutant, incoming Woolworths CEO Amanda Bardwell, went to a state high school in Brisbane.

Other new inclusions, Olympic gold medallist Jessica Fox and federal Coalition frontbencher Melissa McIntosh, both attended Blaxland High in the lower Blue Mountains.

Paris Games superstar Ms Fox was dux and achieved 99.1 in her HSC.

Ms Fox, who is on the International Olympic Committee’s athletes commission and enters the Power 100 at 53, has publicly sung the praises of the school, saying it provided her with life lessons and inspiration to take on challenges and pursue her passions.

Ms McIntosh revealed to The Daily Telegraph that she did not have a positive experience at Blaxland (see story below).

Another debutant, the National Rugby League’s US expansion head John Vellis, attended Hurstville Boys High – now part of the George River College.

Mr Vellis told The Telegraph that his schooling taught him “how to get stuff done and push through barriers.

He added: “The master of that – getting stuff done – is PVL,” being Peter V’landys his boss.

The rugby league and racing supremo attended Keira Boys High at North Wollongong. He retains fourth spot in the power rankings in 2024.

The overall proportion of people on the power list who came through the public school system is now approaching 40 per cent.

Only two schools produced four people in this year’s list.

One is the selective public school Sydney Boys High: CBA boss Matt Comyn, actor Russell Crowe and two debutants, NSW Young Australian of the Year Nikhil Autar and Executive Council of Australian Jewry CEO Alexander Ryvchin.

The other is Knox Grammar: News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller, tech entrepreneur brothers Robbie and James Ferguson of Immutable, and newbie Mark Scott, the University of Sydney vice-chancellor.

‘I WAS BULLIED FOR BEING TALENTED’

When federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton offered Western Sydney MP Melissa McIntosh the opposition mental health and suicide portfolio, he did not know she had been mercilessly bullied at school.

No one outside the rising Liberal star’s inner circle did, before today.

Melissa McIntosh was much happier at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. Picture: Supplied

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph for the Power 100 rankings, out this week, Ms McIntosh revealed she changed high schools midway through her secondary studies after being bullied.

Mrs McIntosh had a talent for dance – ballet, jazz and contemporary – but she said she was made to feel that she had to hide it.

“I don’t have amazing memories of my time at Blaxland High School,” she said.

“I did have an experience as a young teenage girl of bullying, particularly around the talent I had at that age in performing arts and dance.

“I was a bit different to other students.

“The way I coped was that I left the school.

“In the early 1990s there were no anti-bullying programs or mental health support, and no support for the children who were doing the bullying,” Mrs McIntosh said.

“I’m really pleased that we have advanced a lot in that space and that there are programs in place,” she added.

Also, there were many more specialist schooling opportunities for talented students now, particularly in Western Sydney.

Still, there was much more to be done in mental health and suicide prevention, she said.

Liberal MP Melissa McIntosh has made her first appearance in our Power 100. Picture: Richard Dobson

During Year 9, a PE and dance teacher at Blaxland High encouraged her to audition for Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. She did and was accepted. It is a semi-selective public school.

“That was a wonderful school and I had a wonderful experience there,” Mrs McIntosh said, despite having to commute 90 minutes each way.

“Myself and my talent was embraced at the school and I was encouraged. I wasn’t embarrassed to have that talent and I didn’t have to hide it and pretend I didn’t have that talent,” she said.

“I was encouraged to be my best as opposed to put down for being my best.”

Mrs McIntosh said being bullied didn’t have lasting negative effects on her. She said it drove her to prove people wrong.

She also said she didn’t consider her treatment to be a reflection on Blaxland High as a whole. Other people had great experiences at the school, she said.

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