By Jordan Baker
St Paul’s College, Australia’s oldest university residential college that was once known for its sexist culture, is considering opening its doors to female undergraduates after 165 years of accepting only young men.
The college’s council has written to parents and alumni asking for their opinion, acknowledging that the change would be significant but saying it could be beneficial to the college and its future. The college is on the grounds of the University of Sydney.
St Paul’s College is considering enrolling undergraduate women Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
The move comes as another Sydney educational institution, Cranbrook in Bellevue Hill, also considers accepting girls after 100 years as a boys’ school, as revealed by the Herald last week.
St Paul’s already has a graduate wing that accepts female postgraduates.
“At several points over the last fifty years, the council has considered whether becoming a fully co-residential college would be beneficial to St Paul’s and its future,” the letter from chairman Mark Elliott and Warden Ed Loane read.
“As part of the Council’s continued strategic development, and particularly in relation to how the College can best achieve its vision into the future, this question is again under consideration.”
The college’s vision, written in 2020, says St Paul’s aspires to be recognised as a place of intellectual, moral and spiritual engagement, and to develop students able to contribute to their communities.
Dr Loane said the college began considering the idea a year ago. It has already looked into whether it was possible and affordable, and found it was; few changes would be required beyond hiring new staff.
“The council has agreed it’s possible, we’re discerning whether it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “There might be compelling reasons to stay all male, or compelling reasons to go co-res[idential] fully, we haven’t committed ourselves to a course.”
Only three university residences remain all-male; St Leo’s at the University of Queensland, Warrane at University of NSW, and the undergraduate house at St Paul’s.
A string of scandals over the past decade, including a pro-rape Facebook page by students in 2009, prompted former Sydney University vice chancellor Michael Spence to criticise a “deep contempt for women” in the culture at St Paul’s.
An investigation by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick in 2018 found students ate sheep’s hearts during initiations and celebrated sporting wins by taking girls to a “bone room” lined with mattresses.
The college apologised for its poor past behaviour and promised to act on all recommendations. It has since been working on cultural change, which includes adding public school and country students to its predominantly private school cohort.
The culture at private boys’ schools has come under scrutiny after a petition calling for better consent education prompted thousands of young women to reveal they were sexually assaulted during their school years.
Cranbrook headmaster Nicholas Sampson wrote to parents on Wednesday confirming the school was considering co-education. “Whilst there appears to be significant support for a move to co-education, there are many questions from the School community regarding such a significant change to Cranbrook,” he said.
The shool is reviewing existing co-educational models, ways to transition to co-education, and is talking to parents, alumni and staff. “A decision of this magnitude requires both due consideration of what is in the best interests of the School as a whole and how any such decision is to be implemented in order to deliver the educational outcomes which it is designed to achieve,” he said.
The other male-only residential colleges at Sydney University, St Andrew’s and St John’s, became co-residential about 20 years ago. However, there are still female-only colleges such as Women’s College. Sancta Sophia is female-only in its undergraduate residence and mixed gender in its graduate section.
Several Sydney boys’ schools have become or are in the process of becoming co-ed recently, including Barker College, The Armidale School, Champagnat at Maroubra and Marist College North Shore.
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