Toorak tongues wagging about St Catherine’s principal’s imminent departure

Mums at the gates of an elite Toorak girls’ school were abuzz at drop-off on Friday morning over the imminent departure of a long-serving principal.

St Catherine’s school in Toorak Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

The mums at Toorak’s school gates were abuzz (well more than normal) at drop-off on Friday morning over the imminent departure of St Catherine’s long-serving principal Michelle Carroll.

Parents were sent an edict from the school council (more tea spilled on that later) informing them Ms Carroll would be leaving at the end of the year after accepting a position on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

Ms Carroll has been principal at the prestigious private Toorak girls’ school for ten years.

“On behalf of the School Council, I write to inform you that our Principal, Ms Michelle Carroll, has advised the Council that she will conclude her tenure at St Catherine’s at the end of the school year, where she has accepted the role of Principal at Matthew Flinders Anglican College on the Sunshine Coast,” the letter read.

“Ms Carroll is an exemplary leader who has provided significant commitment, dedication and service to St Catherine’s School since 2014. We are fortunate to have enjoyed her ten years of service as Principal. She will leave with our best wishes and gratitude.”

Page 13 was always a naughty student passing notes at school, so we can’t resist recalling the scandalous story about a former St Cath’s principal from back in the day.

We will refrain from naming names, but the now legendary story told at G&T hour in 3142 goes that after delivering an address to the school council, the female principal asked if there were any questions.

A parent on the council put her hand up and asked, “When will you stop sleeping with my husband?”

Of course, this has absolutely nothing to do with Ms Carroll but those gossiping mums around the school gates remember it with, well, glee would be the word.