Sydney’s Cranbrook School headmaster Nicholas Sampson resigns

The new acting principal of prestigious Cranbrook School has promised parents she will keep their kids safe following allegations concerning a teacher at the school.

The new acting principal of prestigious Cranbrook School has promised parents she will keep their kids safe following allegations concerning a teacher at the school.

Former principal Nicholas Sampson resigned on Friday morning, after claims he failed to notify the board about a male teacher currently employed at Cranbrook who had sent explicit emails to a former female student at a previous school.

Michele Marquet was appointed Acting Head of School quickly after, and this afternoon told parents and families she was “working to restore the harmony of the school”.

“This week has already been distressing for all of us, and with these latest developments we continue to navigate these particularly challenging times,” she wrote.

Acting Cranbrook principal Michele Marquet.

“However, I hope to reassure you that we are working to restore the harmony of our school.

“I understand there may be feelings of disbelief and sadness, which we are all experiencing.

“I am grateful for everyone’s support and together we will navigate through this transition with resilience and grace.”

Ms Marquet has worked at Cranbrook School for 26 years, and as the Head of Junior School since 2017.

Cranbrook School headmaster Nicholas Sampson has resigned.

As the Cranbrook community absorbed news their headmaster had resigned on Friday, the ABC was reporting Sampson’s resignation was linked to a claim that a serving male teacher had a history of “looking up girls’ skirts” in class and “describing lurid sexual fantasies about his students.”

That claim is said to have been made by a former student claiming the teacher had sent sexually graphic emails to former students, now adults, he had taught at a Catholic girl’s school.

That teacher is understood to have been suspended from the prestigious college on Thursday pending an investigation.

On Friday sources said Sampson, when confronted about the new allegation at an emergency meeting convened by the Cranbrook School Council on Thursday night, had informed the council he simply “forgot” to report the allegation to either the ombudsman or the school council though it was plainly an issue that might be considered “reportable conduct”.

Cranbrook School.

The incident was similar to what happened under Sampson’s watch at Geelong Grammar, said one school parent, referencing a historic case of sexual abuse at that school in which a teacher Jonathan Harvey, was accused of abuse by a male student. Harvey was later jailed over the abuse.

Sampson, who was Geelong headmaster from 2001 to 2004, told a Royal Commission into Institutional Response in 2015 that he had written a glowing letter on behalf of Harvey thanking him for his “exceptional service” and paid him $64,348, a year’s pay, to retire.

He failed however to report the matter to the Victorian Institute of Teaching.

A message from Cranbrook’s School Council signed by Geoff Lovell.

In a statement released to school parents, the president of the council Geoff Lovell confirmed there had been “an irrevocable breakdown of trust between the headmaster and the School Council” following the unearthing of the new allegations.

Lovell wrote: “Late yesterday, the current Cranbrook School Council became aware for the first-time of allegations of an extremely concerning past conduct matter involving a current Senior School teacher at Cranbrook.

“The allegations do not involve past or present Cranbrook students. The Senior School teacher involved was immediately placed on leave pending the School’s further assessment of the matter.

“The circumstances of the matter and subsequently Mr Sampson’s failure to disclose the matter to the current School Council in the context of this week’s ABC Four Corners broadcast, have led to an irrevocable breakdown of trust between the Headmaster and the School Council.

“The School Council communicated this to Mr Sampson and this morning received his resignation.”

In Sampson’s absence Michele Marquet, current Head of Junior School, has been appointed Acting Head of School.

“The School Council deeply regrets the distress to our students, our staff, our parents, our alumni and the broader Cranbrook family arising from the current circumstances,” Mr Lovell continued.

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