Cranbrook council quits amid stoush with parents, alumni

All but one member of Cranbrook’s governing council has quit following a dispute over plans to introduce girls to the wealthy institution.

Cranbrook, which charges $40,000 a year, announced in July it would admit girls in years 7 and 11 from 2026.

Cranbrook’s governing council, save for one member, has quit the wealthy Sydney academy’s board amid concerns that an acrimonious split between parents that was risking the school’s reputation was unresolvable.

At the heart of the conflict are plans to introduce girls to the school, long the destination for the sons of some of the city’s most prominent families from the Packers to the children of Atlassian co-founder and billionaire Scott Farquhar.

The resignation of nine board members on Monday ends a protracted saga that had pitted some of those figures, including Caledonia founder Will Vicars and Macquarie director Nicola ­Wakefield Evans, against school president Jon North, a lawyer and former investment banker.

Mr North, who was said to have suggested principal Nicholas Sampson resign over his desire to make the school coeducational from as early as 2023, will leave the council along with his supporters on December 31.

“The current situation is damaging the reputation of the school and impacting its operations,” the council directors said in a letter to parents and alumni. “We believe this has made the governance of the school untenable.

“Despite a number of good faith attempts over many months to resolve the underlying issues, we have concluded that a workable solution is not possible and we are no longer able to discharge our duties as directors.”

It is understood the student council decided the long-running dispute had to end during a call on Sunday after letters from both sides were published and an unnamed Cranbrook parent started a petition in support of Mr ­Sampson.

The outgoing members are Mr North; former ASX chief financial officer Gillian Larkins; not-for-profit Hagar Australia director Suzanne Williams; and entrepreneur Craig Carroll.

Also leaving are architect Susan Fuller; advisory firm Mason Wilhelm partner Joe Karsay; investment firm Bell Potter Sydney adviser Hugh Dowling; construction company co-founder Ben Ritchie; retired Anglican Bishop of South Sydney Robert Forsyth; and Michael Jensen, the rector at St Mark’s Darling Point.

Council member Katrina Rathie, a director at SBS and Bubs Australia, is staying and is understood to be supportive of Mr Sampson. Ms Rathie also did not sign a letter sent to the school community on Thursday by the council that accused a group of wealthy parents and alumni of orchestrating a media campaign and deriding Mr Sampson’s supporters as “four dis­affected individuals”.

On Saturday, a letter from supporters of Mr Sampson signed by Ms Wakefield Evans, billionaire fund manager Will Vicars, property investment trust Dexus chair Warwick Negus and McKinsey managing partner Angus Dawson said the ongoing controversy would drive away donors.

Late on Saturday night, a petition accusing Mr North of trying to force out Mr Sampson was started on Change. Org and quickly amassed hundreds of signatures. “Nicholas Sampson lodged a formal complaint about the treatment he has received from the council president more than four months ago … unfortunately this is still unresolved many months later,” it said.

“Parents are only just realising what has been going on behind the scenes. Many parents have written or communicated to the school council to express their concerns and remarkably their letters and concerns go un­acknowledged and ignored.”

Prominent signatories include former Wallabies player and Cranbrook Foundation director Anthony Abrahams and Lucas Pontifex, an executive director at global investment firm Morgan Stanley.

Cranbrook headmaster Mr Sampson moved to reassure parents that the education of students remained the priority in the final weeks of the academic year.

“As we approach the end of what has been a lengthy and challenging year, I should like to reassure you that the entire staff at Cranbrook and I remain focused on delivering the vision we share for our great school,” he said. “We are committed to supporting our Cranbrookians today and into the future, with generosity of spirit, kindness and humility.”

Cranbrook, which charges $40,000 a year, announced in July it would admit girls in years 7 and 11 from 2026 after a highly publicised push towards co­education that was publicly championed by Mr Farquhar.

Supporters of the outgoing council said Mr Sampson wanted too much change too quickly, citing concerns over the fact he lived on campus with the mother of a former pupil. He also paid out a teacher facing sexual assault allegations at Geelong Grammar, for which he appeared before the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse in 2015.

Mr Sampson’s camp said the issue of when girl students would start at the 104-year-old boys’ school was symptomatic of a broader desire for cultural renewal within Cranbrook they believed was stymied by Mr North.

It is not known when elections for the new council will take place.

Gillian Larkins is among those who have quit Cranbrook’s governing council. Picture: David Geraghty

The entrance to Cranbrook School in Bellevue Hill, in Sydney’s east. Picture: Richard Dobson

Cranbrook School headmaster Nicholas Sampson.