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Disappointed by Court Ruling, but Commitment to Tradition Endures
Together with Student A (whose identity is protected by a suppression order) the Save Newington College (SNC) group is disappointed by today’s decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, in which Justice Parker ruled that the College Council’s intention to proceed with its plans to make Newington College co-educational is not a breach of the 1873 Trust Deed that originally codified the establishment of the school.
Notwithstanding this adverse decision, SNC group commends the efforts of Student A who, with the support of his tutor Peter Johnston, brought this action having gained the express approval of the Attorney General of NSW.
Today’s decision, while respected, is at odds with the understanding held by generations of Old Boys, parents, staff, and community members — that Newington was founded, funded, and entrusted as a school for boys, consistent with the original deeds.
The campaign by Student A to protect Newington’s heritage has never been about resisting change. It has always been about ensuring that changes honour the school’s founding values, its purpose, and the legacy that thousands have contributed to over more than 160 years.
Student A’s efforts have also been about highlighting the many risks and pitfalls that will be encountered, now and into the future. Despite today’s Court decision, high risks remain around the future academic and financial performance of the school and continuation of its GPS traditions. Particular challenges around successful integration of future girls, anticipated pushback from surrounding all-girls schools and retreat by former supporters of the Newington Foundation have not been addressed.
Student A is deeply grateful to the many Old Boys, former and current staff, parents, and members of the Newington community who supported his efforts. Their encouragement was invaluable in defending the traditions, values, and character that have made Newington a respected institution in Australian education.
Although these current Court proceedings have now concluded, the broader discussion about governance, transparency, and community engagement at Newington College continues. We remain committed to advocating for decisions that respect the voices of those who built this institution and who seek to protect its identity for future generations.
Student A and his legal team are carefully reviewing the reasoning after yesterday’s judgement and have not ruled out an appeal.
29/05/2025
On Thursday 19th December 2024, in what will be a sad day in the memory for all Newington OLD BOYS and the greater Newington Community, lawyers have filed a statement of claim in the Supreme Court of New South Wales against the Council of Newington College and 25 other defendants.
Boys do better in boys' schools.
Read below, a recent message to parents by Tim Bowden, Headmaster at Trinity Grammar School at Summer Hill, Sydney.
The conclusion drawn is that boys do better in boys’ schools than they do in co-educational schools.
(Research data that accompanies the article can be found here)
‘It would be crazy’: Parents fight co-ed proposal for Sydney’s top-ranked schools.
Parents at Sydney’s top single-sex public high schools have slammed a proposal to turn the campuses co-ed, arguing it would be illogical to make drastic changes to some of the highest-performing state schools.
Read the SMH article from 4th October 2024 by Lucy Carroll.
SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS WIN AGAIN!
Based on recent NAPLAN results, girls’ private schools perform ten points higher on average than boys’ schools, and boys schools perform 60 points higher than coeducational public schools.
The reality of low academic results in coeducational schools has been highlighted today in the Daily Telegraph. Independent research from the Daily Telegraph reveals that from the most recent NSW Year 9 Naplan exams, girls’ private schools outperform boys’ private schools and coeducational schools.
While the focus in the article is on girls’ schools, the results underscore the benefits of single sex education, and undermine the Newington College Council’s push for co-ed.
Parents of current and prospective students should carefully consider what going co-ed will mean academically for Newington -these numbers speak for themselves.
Read the Daily Telegraph’s 12/09/24 article, click here
The school too scared to let parents speak up…
Read the article by Ian Webster (Newington College Council 2002 - 2011) published by the Daily Telegraph on 10/07/2024..
Newington’s push for a co-ed a false agenda to hide cash grab.
Read Kerry Maxwells’ opinion piece in the Daily Telegraph (29/05/2024) where she explains how buried within the school’s glossy March 2024 brochure, that is designed to justify going co-ed, is the remarkable admission that the school needs to get bigger to survive government funding cuts and higher interest rates.
“They claim it is all about being socially progressive. But they now admit it is all about money. Lots of it.”
Co-ed move looks woke, could send school broke.
Read Peter Thomas’ opinion piece in the Daily Telegraph (07/05/2024) where he explains the school’s declining financial position and asks the question:
“Given the deterioration in the school’s financial position in the past five years, how does the leadership hope to pay for the $100m-$200m investment needed to deliver the current council’s co-ed strategy?”
See below for further detailed financial analysis and PDF versions of the article.
Why Newington College Should Remain an All-Boys School and…
Why Newington College Should NOT Become Co-Ed:
On 20 February 2024 the College Council Chairman, Tony McDonald, explained his Council’s reasons why Newington will transition to co-ed.
Our Save Newington College (SNC) Group’s position is that he did not make out the case nor justify. See our detailed response by clicking here:
“Toxic masculinity has become a memetic cliche of progressive extremism,”
Tony George - The Kings School Headmaster
The headmaster at The Kings School has penned an inciteful essay taking aim at “virtue signalling”, “identity politics”, “cancel culture” and the media, amid a growing and nationwide trend away from single-sex education. Click here to read the full essay.
Woke madness...
Woke madness...
Take a minute to read Greg Sheridan’s piece:
“Why abolishing boys schools is an act of woke madness -
“Buck up, boys schools, you have a lot to offer. The campaign to abolish single-sex schools, especially boys schools, is a sign of the madness of ideology and the badness of groupthink.”
Source: The Australian 12/03/2024
Our response to the Tony McDonald letter:
“…they have not made the case…
…the decision is ideological and doctrinal only…
…there is unacceptable risk of lasting damage…”
Read our detailed response to the Newington College Council Chairman’s letter of 20/02/2024 where he outlines information about his council’s decision for Newington to go co-ed.
Has he made the case for Newington to go co-ed? Or is his letter full of platitudes, negative and disingenuous argument, irrelevant facts and flawed thinking?
- Tongan Community Gutted
- Tongan Community Gutted
In the College Council’s quest for diversity and inclusion, the real results are coming in…
This from a Newington mum, when asked for the Tongan community’s feelings on the co-ed decision:
“The Tongan community are gutted with this decision! There was no consultation with the Tongan community who have been part of Newington’s history for 150 years! Well I haven’t been included… I tried to register when it first came out and I emailed the school and was told that the spots for discussion groups were full!
I have had nephews, sons attend Newington and they’re extremely disappointed with the co-ed thing!
I have taken my youngest son out and he will be attending Kings! We will no longer do the Tongan stall which I started in 2012 for back to Newington Day…”
Do girls do better in co-ed schools? NAPLAN data suggests “No”.
A recent study commissioned by Catholic Schools NSW using NAPLAN test data between 2019 and 2022 found single-sex schools performed better than co-ed schools.
Analysis from the Kathleen Burrow Research Institute, using data for years 3, 5, 7 and 9, found the disparity between results was “particularly high” in numeracy, but there is little difference in reading.
The advantage was “generally greater for boys schools than girls schools”, the study found.
“Overall, the results of this analysis imply a modest academic advantage for single-sex schools, with the advantage generally greater for boys’ schools than girls’ schools.”
However, the percentage of students in single-sex schools has dropped from 7.2 per cent in 2018 to 7 per cent today.
The Australian Council for Educational Research found in 2019 that students in coeducational schools learn at the same speed, or even faster, than their segregated counterparts.ACER research fellow Katherine Dix says: “In terms of the compounding influence of being in a single-sex school … there appears to be no value-add in numeracy achievement and even a decline in reading achievement over time in single-sex schools compared with coeducational schools.”
Source: theaustralian.com.au
Tony George - The Kings School Headmaster
“Boys don’t need girls in the classroom’ to learn the rules…
They’ve all got mums and sisters and female teachers so they all know what it is to submit to a woman in authority. So don’t tell me they don’t know how to go out in the workplace and kowtow to a female boss, because they’ve been doing it all their school life.”
The King’s School headmaster Tony George last year told parents at the elite all-boys school that society “is in the middle of a genderism experiment’’ and that boys did not need girls in their classrooms to learn to “kowtow to a female boss’’.
Source: theaustralian.com.au
