Nicholas Sampson resignation from Cranbrook school a ‘relief’

Former and current parents at Cranbrook private school in Sydney say the resignation of headmaster Nicholas Sampson after a second series of allegations does not go far enough.

Former and current parents at Cranbrook private school in Sydney say the resignation of headmaster Nicholas Sampson after a second series of allegations does not go far enough, as the acting head aims to reassure parents she will “restore harmony” and “stability” to the school.

It is understood the fresh allegations relate to Mr Sampson’s knowledge of a current Cranbrook senior school teacher allegedly sending graphic emails to a former female student at Mount St Benedict College in 2014.

Mount St Benedict College ­released a statement on Friday night saying it reported the ­teacher, who no longer worked at the school, to his subsequent ­employer.

Cranbrook’s council alleges that Mr Sampson’s failure to “disclose the matter” led to an “irrevocable breakdown of trust between the headmaster and the school council”.

Nicholas Sampson, former headmaster of Geelong Grammar and Cranbrook in Sydney, leaves the County Court in Melbourne during the child abuse Royal Commission hearing.

A note to parents also mentioned an ABC Four Corners ­episode, broadcast on Monday, highlighting a history of abuse, bullying and mistreatment of staff and students at the school.

The acting head, Michele Marquet, told parents on Friday afternoon she “understands there may be feelings of disbelief and sadness, which we are all experiencing” and that “it is during these testing times that our bonds must grow stronger”. She also offered counselling to students.

Mount St Benedict College said that, in March 2015, it became aware of email communication between the former teacher and an ex-student in 2014.

“The College responded promptly and reported the matter to all required agencies … and the school at which the teacher was subsequently employed … The College discharged its legal responsibilities as required at the time in relation to this matter,” Mount St Benedict said. The teacher was employed at the girls’ school from 2005 to 2008.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has asked his department “to investigate the issues raised in the media relating to Cranbrook and take any appropriate action”.

Parents, a number of whom wanted to remain anonymous, citing a “toxic personality cult” at the school, expressed relief that Mr Sampson was gone and called it an “important first step” in fixing the school’s culture.

Former Labor politician and Cranbrook parent Graham Richardson said it was a “new dawn” for the school.

Mr Richardson, who has spoken publicly about his opposition to the school going co-ed, said he had approached members of the Cranbrook council more than five years ago following the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and pushed for Mr Sampson’s resignation.

He said he also approached Mr Sampson, after all-but-one of the school council quit, and told him to resign.

Former politician Graham Richardson. Jane Dempster/The Australian

“I think Sampson should have resigned some time ago,” he said.

“It’s a first step. The board need to go because they defended him the whole time. He’s gone and that’s the first step, and the next step is the lot of them should go.”

Mr Richardson said Mr Sampson wanted to “continue on as if nothing was wrong”.

“The reputational damage the school could suffer is just too great. We shouldn’t just sit back and allow it to happen,” he said.

The sexually explicit emails from the current Cranbrook teacher to a former female student, referred to in a letter to parents and old boys on Friday as “allegations of an extremely concerning past conduct”, included comments he had fantasised about the student and other girls in the class. That teacher is now on immediate leave as an investigation takes place.

Jason Graham-Nye, ex-president of the alumni association who featured heavily in the Four Corners episode on Monday, called it the “darkest day in the history of the school” but also a day where his beloved institution could start to “rebuild”.

Mr Graham-Nye said he was shocked about the nature of the allegations when he received the news on Friday. “I feel for the victims of the bullying aired on that show,” he said. “Today is also a vindication that there were lots of allegations not rightly investigated and now it comes to pass that there is a pattern of behaviour over the entire time Nicholas Sampson was at the school.”

Alumni, former teacher and ex-president of the Old Cranbrookians Association, Jason Graham-Nye, was featured in the Four Corners program. Picture: ABC

He said there was a “deep cancer” at Cranbrook and a “rot … that has to be taken out”. He and other parents who spoke to The Weekend Australian called for an independent review of the leadership and culture “if there was any hope to regain its reputation”.

“It’s a relief (he’s gone) and now there’s a huge amount of work to be done by the council to further investigate and see if there’s more rot in the management team and really reset the school. I feel for the students, I feel for the parents who are spending all this money … and for the ­alumni, we know how good that school can be.”

Both Mr Richardson and Mr Graham-Nye expressed complete confidence in Ms Marquet, who has been at the school for 26 years and head of junior school since 2017.

One parent, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said she had received 10 to 15 calls from other mothers concerned about their boys on Friday.

It is understood one mother was considering picking their two children up from school because she didn’t want them to have to deal with another disruption.

“It’s sad for (our kids) because as mums, we’re getting messages from our sons asking us whether they should be at that school anymore, saying ‘Imagine how that looks on our CV going forward’. That’s sad,” she said.

The Australian contacted numerous people who had been supportive of Mr Sampson in the past, none of whom returned The Australian’s phone calls or messages.