Concerns over ABC ‘hit job’ on the prestigious Cranbrook School

An upcoming Four Corners episode about the prestigious Cranbrook School has been described by the school as “unsettling” for families.

The ABC is planning a “hit-job” on one of Australia’s most prestigious schools, Cranbrook.

The broadcaster’s flagship current affairs program, Four Corners, is set to air its investigation into the $41,800-a-year school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Monday night.

In a message sent to parents via WhatsApp this week, the school expressed concern about the contents of the upcoming episode.

The Cranbrook School Parents Association president Sam Roberts shared a message with parents on behalf that she said was “important information from the school”.

“We believe the programme will attempt to characterise negatively the culture and leadership of the School,” the note said.

“We understand how unsettling this news is to our families and want to reassure you that we will strongly assert our belief that Cranbrook has a kind, inclusive and respectful environment for our students, staff and families.”

The message also stated that Cranbrook had “engaged with the ABC” about the episode’s contents of the episode titled “The secrets of Cranbrook”.

Nicholas Sampson.

The Australian sent questions to the ABC and a spokeswoman said: “As a rule we don’t discuss upcoming investigations.”

But one insider familiar with the ABC’s line of questioning to the single-sex school told The Australian that the program was a “hit job”.

It is understood principal Nicholas Sampson was approached by the ABC on February 19 for an interview but declined, choosing to only respond in writing due to having no confidence the story would be portrayed fairly.

I have a story up Monday night on #4Corners. In my humble opinion, it’s very much in the public interest and it’s worth a watch.

— Louise Milligan (@Milliganreports) February 29, 2024

High-profile former students who attended the school include James Packer, David Gyngell and Mike Cannon-Brookes.

Four Corners journalist Louise Milligan will front the report about the Bellevue Hill school.

In a promo for the program, released on Thursday, interviewees described Cranbrook as a “boys club” that left “lives devastated”.

ABC Four Corners journalist Louise Milligan.

The promo for the episodes shows Milligan asking a male interviewee, “How do you feel when you go past that place?”

He replied: “It’s a facade because I know what happened on the inside.”

A woman also says in the promo: “It’s like lambs to the slaughter and it needs to stop.” 

Milligan asks: “Why should the rest of Australia care about what’s happening at this fancy school?”

Activist Chanel Contos replies: “Those people go on to run our country for better or for worse.”

Cranbrook made headlines in 2023 over a messy internal spat, which saw the school’s board attempt to oust Mr Sampson over plans to shift to a coeducational school.

Ten of the 11 council members quit over the issue.

A statement from Cranbrook School Council president Geoff Lovell said the Four Corners program had been in production for at least four months and the school, “has taken a decision not to accept the ABC’s invitation to participate in on camera interviews for the program”.

“We have done so on the basis that we have little confidence the School’s position would be presented in a balanced manner or in its correct context,” he said.

“The tone, structure and content of the questions put to the School by the ABC give every indication that the issues at hand have been prejudged and that the School’s participation would make little or no difference to how the program intends to portray the School.”