Elite Sydney boys school Cranbrook turns co-ed

Cranbrook School is set to become a coeducational institution by the end of the decade after alumni said its make-up and attitudes were counter to modern society.

Cranbrook alumni wrote to the school in May saying the institution’s single-sex composition was no longer compatible with broader society.

One of Australia’s most prestigious boys schools is set to become a co-educational institution by the end of the decade, after months of heated debate between parents and alumni ended with a revised plan to introduce more ­female students.

Sydney’s Cranbrook School – whose alumni include billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, as well as Kerry and James Packer – will become fully co-educational from years 7 to 12 by 2029, with its first female students to attend from 2026.

Following months of consultation, the school’s leadership team informed parents on Wednesday it was planning to make the entire school co-educational, after initial discussions suggested girls would only be accepted in years 11 and 12.

But the Bellevue Hill school decided to admit girls from year 7 to achieve a more balanced ratio of female-to-male students across all year levels.

“There is broad community support for co-education at Cranbrook,” school chairman Jon North and principal Nicholas Sampson wrote in a letter to parents, adding that the move was inevitable in “the context of a modern society”.

“By introducing co-education in year 7, students are able to grow together during their secondary education in preparation for the senior years,” the letter said.

The Anglican school, where fees start at $26,000 and rise to $40,000 in year 12, has been a boys-only institution since its founding in 1918.

Cranbrook School in Sydney’s Rose Bay.

In May, a group of alumni wrote to the school’s council saying the institution’s values and make-up were no longer compatible with broader society and required reform.

“Some of the attitudes and norms of behaviour that develop in these communities [single-sex schools] are rightly no longer acceptable in broader Australian society,” the letter said.

A month later Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar reportedly fronted the school’s council to request the shift to a co-­educational model, but was rebuffed at the annual general meeting.

At the time Mr Farquhar and wife Kim Jackson, who leads private investment fund Skip Capital, said they would be willing to sponsor scholarships for female students considering attending the prestigious school.

The decision comes after a string of schools in NSW transitioned to co-education, including Newington College in Stanmore, Marist Catholic College and Champagnat in Maroubra.

It’s understood St Mary’s Cathedral College, De La Salle College and Bethlehem College in Ashfield are also contemplating a similar move to a co-educational model.