Disgraced ex-principal leading hunt for elite school’s deputy

A former principal who was forced to resign after a student caught him watching porn in his office has been put in charge of finding a new deputy for an elite girls’ school.

Former Geelong College principal Andrew Barr is leading the hunt for Melbourne Girls’ Grammar’s new deputy principal.

Disgraced former Geelong College principal Andrew Barr, who resigned after being caught watching pornography in his office, is helping schools and childcare centres appoint staff.

The Herald Sun can reveal Mr Barr is currently leading the search for Melbourne Girls’ Grammar School to appoint a new deputy principal.

He is employed by The Slade Group, an educational recruitment company.

Mr Barr was forced to resign in 2015 from the plum school leadership role after a student reportedly took a photograph of him through a school window and published it on Snapchat.

The incident was investigated by the school’s council who said that when its “concerns were confirmed, Andrew Barr tendered his resignation”.

This photograph, believed to show the then Geelong College principal watching pornography in his office, was widely circulated on social media.

Melbourne Girls’ Grammar school told the Herald Sun the school “uses a variety of specialist recruitment firms, including for a current position announced in May, to appoint an additional deputy principal”.

Mr Barr is also recruiting for the director of Wingate Avenue Children’s Co-Operative Centre in Ascot Vale, a safety, risk and compliance officer for a “prominent” South Yarra school and a special needs teacher in Lalor.

Another former school leader who recently worked in executive recruitment is Rosa Storelli, who was sacked as principal of Methodist Ladies’ College amid a bitter dispute over her entitlements.

In 2012 Ms Storelli agreed to repay $100,000 and the school board admitted she was not terminated for serious misconduct, but said their relationship had “irretrievably broken down”.

However, a Deloitte report showed the school covered $1.69m of her private expenses but only $1.42m was recovered.

Rosa Storelli also landed a recruitment role after she was sacked as principal of MLC.

Ms Storelli has been working as a senior associate for Hutton Consulting, which is currently recruiting for senior leadership positions at MLC, Lauriston, Presbyterian Ladies’ College and Heathdale Christian College.

The high-profile firm, which led the search for a new Scotch College principal after Fish and Nankivel appointed Matthew Leeds, who was sacked before he started the job in early 2022.

Hutton Consulting also recruited for principal and deputy principal roles at Overnewton Anglican Community College, Westbourne Grammar, Trinity Grammar, Wesley College and Southern Cross Grammar.

Hutton Consulting also employs Christophe Menage as a senior education consultant who was sued by Peninsula Grammar in 2019 after allegedly giving secret documents about the school’s boarding house.

He admitted through his lawyers to providing documents to “relevant authorities as I had concerns regarding the living conditions of the students”.

He has helped find jobs for senior staff at Beaconhills College and Crest Education.

Hutton Consulting founder Fiona Hutton said Ms Storelli “has not worked for HCA since 2019, but she is still held in very high regard”.

“When she was employed with us, we benefited from her immense experience and insight”. She paid tribute to Ms Storelli’s “accolades and accomplishments post MLC,” she said.

Ms Hutton said Mr Menage left Peninsula Grammar “for admirable reasons” and was a “great asset to our team”.

The Slade Group has been contacted for comment.