The Save Newington College Group is not against co-ed. This group believes in choice and proper and transparent process. The College Council has effectively ignored these two critical ideals that are central for any Independent school to operate with a social license. Instead, the College Council rushed through a decision that blindsided the whole community.

In line with our stated belief that such a seismic shift in this extraordinary school will destroy the great traditions and heritage that make Newington College the greatest school for boys in Australia. Below is a summarised, 7 point pragmatic response to support our opposition such a change:

1. Was the process transparent?

The announcement by the College Council on 20/11/2023 that Newington would transition to co-ed, shocked the school community and all its stakeholders. Why are hundreds of parents so upset?

a) Lack of consultation

No polling of current and future parents was ever conducted with only a handfull of parents, staff and old boys invloved in the so-called round table sessions.

The headmaster recently claimed that the consultation process was “very extensive” as it “included (but was not limited to) 40 two hour consultation sessions with hundreds of stakeholders in February and March of 2022 – parents, alumni and students”. In reality:

• 40 groups of between 8-10 people effectively means that only 400 people out of the approximate 3,000 current parents, 10,000 old boys and 200 staff had input. That is, less than 3% of all stakeholders were consulted, and only 4% of parents.

• Many other parents and alumni were told sessions were full and could not join the consultation.

• Many people involved in these sessions claimed afterwards they were in fact “a joke” in the way they were facilitated, with some not even discussing co-ed but only student numbers.

• Parents who have attended, have stated that at the first meeting, if they were anti co-ed they were not invited back.

• The sessions were conducted during Covid travel restrictions, so only inner city participants could attend. No virtual Zoom/Teams consultations were offered.

• No future parents, contacted by this group (whom this decision impacts the most), had the option to attend these sessions, despite the Headmaster advising in his initial email they would be consulting prospective parents.

The Headmaster also claims that he conducted SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analyses separately with over 30 classes in Term 1 and 2 of 2022 from Year 5 to Year 12 and that “Students were consulted widely and their views were taken seriously”. We believe that the imbalance of power between a Headmaster talking to children where they feared being honest, does not require further explanation and thus to claim it as “consultation” is laughable.

We also know:

• The Headmaster spent some time taking students aside on the playground to ask their opinion, and then attempted convince them to agree.

• The school read the emails of students who wanted to protest the decision and threatened them with disciplinary action. One student was promised a sit down with the College Councillors that never happened.

• Boys were told not to speak to the media or they’d be punished.

• A Newington teacher and Mentor to a new Year 7 cohort joked about “police should tear gas the protestors”.

b) The research

The College Council claims to have conducted “a comprehensive third-party review, meta-analysis, research on co-ed and single sex education, workshops, qualitative consultation groups and insights reporting, quantitative demand modelling in partnership with independent research…” but it refuses to release this research claiming “commercial in confidence”. It is unconscionable to think that the stakeholders are to simply take this decision on the trust of a select few without full disclosure of the “review”.

c) Consent - Parents misled

Many parents have confirmed that upon, or before enrolling their child during the past 2 years, they were explicitly told that co-ed would not be a possibility until after 2032 i.e. after their son had left the school. On the contrary, the school has now advised parents with children in year 7 in 2024, that they can expect co-ed classes when their son is in year 11. Most parents with sons in the junior school campuses signed up for a single-sex school, not co-ed, and now the rules have changed without their consent.

d) No empathy for those effected

The College Council has arrogantly told some current parents and future parents to “go elsewhere” if they are unhappy. Some of these parents have been at the school for the entire 6 year Wyvern/Lindfield experience and now that the goal posts have changed, it is apparently these families who should leave. Some familes affected have had generations attend Newington.

Below is a letter received here at the SNC Group 31/01/2024:

Dear Sir/ Madam,

I just wanted to inform you that as a result of many factors, culminating in the College's decision to go co-ed, we made the decision at the end of last year to move our son out of Newington to another school where he started this week.

I wasn't sure if you had any information or statistics on this type of occurrence and thought it might be helpful to inform you for your campaign.

I also find that for what it's worth, many of the statements attributed to Mr Parker in the recent media articles are misleading in terms of the survey that the College ran in 2022. 

It may be noted that our son was in year 6, was Captain of Howe House and Captain of the "A" Soccer Team. We still have not received any reply or acknowledgment from Mr Parker to our email informing him of our reasons to leave Newington.

I thought this information might be useful to you and you may refer to it if you need to but please don't mention me or our family by name.

Good luck!

2. Don’t parents deserve choice?

Parents and carers believe that having a choice of single-sex or co-ed education for children is important and that they have a reasonable right to choose either style for their children.

There are fewer and fewer choices for an independent, all-boys education in NSW. Newington remains one of these schools. We believe that Newington’s position in the educational landscape is enhanced by scarcity going forward. In a market where demand often exceeds supply, it is hard to understand why a move to co-ed for Newington could be, or should be, seriously entertained in the absence of societal forces, currently or in the foreseeable future.

3. Educational issues?

a) Plummeting outcomes

Already, with the Headmaster and College Council being distracted for the past years readying themselves for the co-ed announcement, the academic outcomes have been plummetting. Prior to 2019, Newington consistantly ranked within the the top 100 schools, average rank being 89th. From 2019 to date, Newington has ranked: 179, 181, 95, 131, 142.

b) No evidence kids learn better with co-ed

There is no clear evidence of an educational advantage to co-ed. Available research into comparative benefits of co-ed for both boys and girls is mixed, sometimes anecdotal and often conflicting. There is some research that suggests that girls perform better in humanities when educated in a single-sex environment, and boys perform better in STEM subjects in boys-only schools. Conversely, in recently formed co-ed environments considerable evidence exists to suggest that previously observed outperformance of both boys and girls declines due to the overlay of social pressures not previously present.

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.”

c) Will such a cultural change promote better outcomes?

Parents and carers send their children to school to be educated. At Newington this has historically and recently been delivered in an environment of diversity, co-curricular ethos and inclusivity, all features of delivering to boys a first class, all-round education. It is evident to all, that the main service offering of the College ie; a high quality education, will be changed radically in form after any transition to co-ed. This will represent a core functional and cultural change of direction from the school’s traditional role.

4. What about the facilites and financial cost?

The estimated cost of construction required for a transition to co-ed would be in the order of $70m for the Stanmore senior campus alone, and this approaches $100m when Wyvern and Lindfield campuses are included. This investment would be the highest cost capital works programme ever entered into at Newington, and to be clear, this investment would offer no provision for increased overall student numbers, but simply facilitate a migration of the 100% male cohort to a roughly equal male-female cohort in planned stages. Therefore no positive rate of financial return on the above expenditure is likely. Ultimately increased cash generation from school operations results from increased student numbers, and in this co-ed model a net increase in student population is not guaranteed.

This required cost of facilities creation, alteration and onsite expansion (where possible) is to accommodate a “critical mass” of girls that is universally required to give any transition to co-ed a chance of success in the longer term.

Works at all campuses would include:

• Creation, repurposing and expansion of all toilet, change room and safe space facilities to accommodate female students, visiting students and staff, as well as unisex facilities

• Additional classrooms for an expanded curriculum that caters for both male and female students

• Conversion of some existing sports facilities to accommodate both male and female sports eg.

Hockey, Touch Football and Netball. Remote facilities such as the Boat Shed would require remodelling

• Wyvern House alterations would most likely need the Edmund Webb House boarding facility to be repurposed to accommodate these expanded needs. If Edmund Webb House was no longer available for boarding, new facilities will be required. Have other options been identified in Stanmore, such as repurposing in Middleton Street, or Concordia, that would meet with local Council approval?

Work sites, temporary classrooms, construction of new toilet blocks and change rooms, new boarding facilities and possible repurposing of existing parking facilities would be the norm for several decades, and that is before considering disruption to sports facilities and fields. Apart from 3 the hugely negative operational impacts, this would greatly damage the current attractiveness of the College grounds and buildings over a period of many years.

5. Will this effect the Foundation?

There is widespread concern amongst many stakeholders that the College is was distracted hugely by the co-ed investigation, and the resulting uncertainty breeds donation inactivity. Already approximately $5 million in bequests have been cancelled!

It appears from our many interactions with stakeholders, that medium and longer term success for the Foundation is inextricably linked to this co-ed decision.

In order to improve the bequest and fund raising (and “friend” raising) outlook for the Foundation as a whole, it is recommended that co-ed not proceed.

6. Isn’t Newington already diverse?

There is little or no evidence that children of both sexes being educated on the same campus and in the same classrooms is the same diversity dynamic as exists in the higher education institutions, associations, organizations and workplaces of Australian and other comparable societies. Newington boys are already very well prepared for the cultural, racial, religious and gender diversity in society that they will encounter after school. Emphasis at the College on respect for women and girls is to be admired and is a positive influence on young men, helping to equip them for their lives ahead.

It is entirely appropriate that commentary around Newington’s established diversity, extending to gender diversity should include the female voice. This voice has been heard loud and clear, including interviews with many mothers, both past and present, female siblings of past and present students, and also both older and younger women with some knowledge of Newington’s character and ethos, by association. The mothers as well as fathers of Newington boys do not want co-ed for Newington. They want the boys-only education for their sons that they have been attracted to, or already signed up for.

7. Will Newington remain in the AAGPS?

Any decision that puts Newington’s effective membership of the AAGPS at risk is a grave decision with far reaching impacts. This would occur as numbers of boys progressively reduce to uncompetitive levels. Not only would the boys be affected but it is not clear how incoming girls could effectively participate in IGSA sports without adequate sports facilities suitable for girls, unless they are re-purposed from the boys facilities that are already under pressure.