Newington College old boy Robert Millner blasts Sydney school’s co-ed plan

Robert Millner, a captain of industry, has condemned plans by Sydney’s Newington College to admit girls to the elite boys’ school.

Billionaire investor and Newington College ‘old boy’ Robert Millner. Picture: Adam Yip

A captain of Australian industry has blasted plans by his alma mater, Newington College, to admit girls to the elite boys’ school.

Old Newingtonian Robert Millner – who chairs Australia’s second oldest publicly listed corporation, the investment conglomerate Washington H. Soul Pattinson – said he was “devastated’’ that the Sydney school would become a coeducational campus.

“The gates at the entrance to the school are named after the Millner family and I am absolutely devastated by the decision,’’ he told The Australian.

“The school has such a shortage of space as it is – it’s the size of a postage stamp compared to King’s (The King’s School) so I can’t envisage expanding it when girls start attending the school.’’

The well-connected corporate executive, who also chairs New Hope Group and Brickworks Ltd – said his father and grandfather had been educated at the school, and his grandson was enrolled to start in 2025.

“This is one of those schools where people put names down when their wives are pregnant,’’ he said.

Sydney’s Newington College. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“It’s not as if the school’s struggling for enrolments.

“I’m a great believer that if it’s not broken, don’t change it.

“They’re limiting the number of future boys going to the school and that irks me.’’

Newington College plans to end 160 years of tradition by transitioning into a coeducational school over the next decade, despite a storm of protest from “Old Newingtonians’’ and parents who pay up to $38,884 a year to send their sons to the Uniting Church GPS school.

More than 600 people had signed a Change.org petition yesterday opposing the decision as “an erosion of our heritage’’.

“Newington has always been a place for boys to grow into men, surrounded by their brothers,’’ the petition started by “old boy’’ John Ramarque states.

“It’s where we learned about camaraderie, leadership, and respect – values that have shaped us into who we are today.

“The decision to transition into a coeducational institution was made without considering its impact on our community or consulting with alumni or current students.’’

Despite the protests, Newington College Council chairman Tony McDonald doubled down on the decision last night, revealing that 280 girls had joined the waiting list within 24 hours.

He said that application “is not a guarantee of a place’’ and “there is no denying that we have more children in the waitpool than we have positions’’.

Newington College student Nick Farr-Jones

School old boy Neil Perry.

“We need to balance the places for siblings, children of ONU (Old Newingtonian Union) members as well as students from diverse backgrounds,’’ he wrote in a statement posted on the website last night.

“While we are excited about the change and the overwhelmingly positive response it has received, we also appreciate that there are some in our community who disagree with this decision.

“We appreciate that everyone is entitled to their view, however we know from all the work conducted since February 2022 that the best interests of Newington and its students in the future is coeducational and one that prepares all our students for an enriching, positive and thriving future beyond their time at school.’’

Mr Millner said he feared that boys already on the enrolment waiting list “will be told they can’t come to the school because their place has been taken by a girl’’.

He said that elite girls’ schools were not admitting boys.

“We all want girls to do well in the world but if I went to PLC (Presbyterian Ladies’ College) or Ascham (school) I’m sure I’d be shown the door if I asked them to open up to becoming a co-ed school,’’ he said.

Other Newington Old Boys include members of the Tongan royal family, former Nine Network boss David Leckie, celebrity chef Neil Perry, former NSW deputy premier Ian Armstrong, and former Australian Cyber Security Centre tsar Alastair MacGibbon.

Former Wallaby captain Nick Farr-Jones has said that he feels “sorry’’ for boys on the waitlist who might now miss out on a place.

Old Boy Ian Webster, a publisher and grazier whose two sons and his father also attended the school, said parents would lose the right to choose a boys’ school for their sons’ education.