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Cranbrook School, Sydney

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Coordinates: 33°52′15″S 151°15′9″E / 33.87083°S 151.25250°E / -33.87083; 151.25250
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Cranbrook School
Location
Map
Bellevue Hill and Rose Bay, New South Wales

Australia
Coordinates33°52′15″S 151°15′9″E / 33.87083°S 151.25250°E / -33.87083; 151.25250
Information
TypeIndependent early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school
MottoLatin: Esse Quam Videri
(To be, rather than to seem to be[1])
DenominationAnglican[2]
Established1918; 106 years ago (1918)[3]
FounderFrederick T. Perkins
President of CouncilVacant
Headmaster (Acting)Michele Marquet
Deputy Headmaster/Head of Senior SchoolBob Meakin
Head of Junior SchoolMichele Marquet
Director of Students/Deputy Head of Senior SchoolPeter Young
ChaplainRoderick Farraway
Employeesc. 187[4]
YearsEarly learning and K–12
GenderBoys (Co-Ed from 2026)
Enrolmentc. 1,680 (2021[4])
Colour(s)Red, white and blue    
Affiliations
AlumniOld Cranbrookians
Websitewww.cranbrook.nsw.edu.au
Map

Cranbrook School is an independent Anglican day and boarding school, with multiple campuses in Sydney's eastern suburbs New South Wales, Australia for students from pre-school to year 12. The school was founded in 1918 with the Rev'd Frederick Thomas Perkins as the first headmaster. Cranbrook has a non-selective enrollment policy and currently caters for approximately 1,680[4] students from early learning (4 years old) to Year 12 (18 years old),[5] including 80 boarders from Years 7 to 12. Cranbrook is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[6] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[7] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA),[8] and the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.[9] It is a founding member of the Combined Associated Schools (CAS).[10][11] and the Independent Sporting Association (ISA).

History

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On 1 December 1917, the former private home and vice-regal residence, Cranbrook, was bought at auction by an agent for Samuel Hordern. He was the main financial benefactor of a group of businessmen and churchmen aiming to establish an Anglican boys' school in the Eastern Suburbs.[12]

From December 1917 to June 1918, a provisional committee of twelve, comprising the founders and six additional men, prepared for the opening of the new school. They held meetings, ensured building renovations were completed, drew up the first articles of association and appointed the first Headmaster, Rev. F. T. Perkins.[13]

On 6 June 1918, the provisional committee reformed itself as the first council of Cranbrook School and organised the official opening of the school for 22 July 1918.[13]

Charles Kingsford Smith during a visit to Cranbrook in 1928

In July 2022, parents of students were informed that the whole senior school would be fully co-ed by 2029 with girls in Years 7 and 11 being enrolled from 2026, and other years being slowly integrated year by year.[14] This integration method was based on Barker College's co-ed integration in 2020.[15] In March 2024, the school was featured in a Four Corners investigation into allegations of a toxic workplace and sexist student culture, led by some former teachers. The report also raised questions around Government funding for Cranbrook School and its level of accountability for this.[16]

Headmasters

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Ordinal Headmaster Qualifications Years Education Other key positions held
1 Rev'd Frederick T. Perkins MA 1918–1932
2 Brigadier Iven G. Mackay BA HonLLD 1933–1939
3 Sir Brian W. Hone OBE BA(Hons) MA FACE 1940–1951
4 Gethyn Hewan MA MACE 1951–1963
5 Mark Bishop OBE BSc ARACI FACE 1963–1985
6 Dr Bruce N. Carter AM BA EdM EdD 1985–2000
7 Jeremy J. S. Madin BA(Hons) DipEd 2001–2012
8 Nicholas A. Sampson MA PGCE 2012–2024
Acting HM Michele Marquet MEd 2024-
  • Head Of Cranbrook Junior School 2014-present

Campuses

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Cranbrook School is situated over five campuses; the Senior School (Years 7 to 12) are located on the main campus in suburban Bellevue Hill, while the Junior School, for students from Kindergarten to Year 6, is located in nearby Rose Bay. There are 2 pre-schools that Cranbrook offer: St Mark's in Darling Point and St Michael's in Vaucluse. The final campus is Wolgan Valley. This campus is a residential education site with an emphasis on experiential learning. Wolgan Valley takes students away from the bubble of their every life, allowing the space for contemplation, reflection, conservation and wonder, free from the distraction of technology and city life.

School Operation

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House System

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Cranbrook has a system of houses across the campuses. This system was created in order for students to socialise better between different year groups, where senior students would be acting as juniors' mentors within the House. In the Senior School there are currently 12 day-houses, with about 100 students in each. There are also two boarding houses with around 40 students each.[17]

Curriculum

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Whilst Cranbrook School is an open entry school, its focus on the individual means they have achieved exceptional academic results. Cranbrook is one of only a few independent school in Sydney to become an IB Continuum School. Starting from Pre-Schools, the school used the IB framework to teach the NSW curriculum through to Year 12. Cranbrook School offers the IB Diploma Programme as an alternative pathway to the HSC credential.

Co-curricular

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Cranbrook has an extensive range of co-curricular activities from the Arts to the Sciences, Music to Sport, providing its students with the encouragement to support their individual interests.

Cranbrook Sports Pavilion was designed by John Horbury Hunt and is heritage-listed.

Sport

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Cranbrook School is a member of the Combined Associated Schools (CAS).

CAS premierships

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Cranbrook School has won the following CAS premierships.[18]

  • Athletics (7) – 1930, 1934, 1936, 1943, 1951, 1952, 1965
  • Basketball – 2007
  • Cricket (8) – 1935, 1989, 1998, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
  • Cross Country (9) – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2023
  • Rugby (13) – 1930, 1931, 1933, 1943, 1960, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1994, 2014
  • Swimming (8) – 1942, 1944, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1955, 1974, 1976

Notable alumni

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Main article: List of Old Boys of Cranbrook School, Sydney

Alumni of Cranbrook School are known as "Old Cranbrookians" and may elect to join the school's alumni association, the Old Cranbrookians' Association (OCA).[19]

Cranbrook School’s alumni—from artists to entrepreneurs, Olympians to academics—reflect a School culture that has encouraged an openness to the outside world and an emphasis on breadth and balance—freeing individuals to explore, enjoy and fulfil their potential.

Controversies and criticisms

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Anti-Semitic incidents

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In 2022, there were reports that three students were the targets of anti-Semitic behaviour by fellow students. Later, video footage of a student doing a Nazi salute emerged.[20] In September 2022, the school announced an internal review to look into it.[21] Cranbrook has said it had built an improved and centralised incident behaviour register and strengthened its alliances with organisations including the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies.[22]

Mass resignation from school council

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In November 2022, 10 of the 11 members of Cranbrook School’s council announced their resignation due to a deteriorating relationship between headmaster and school council president, as well as disagreement over plans to admit girls to the century-old boys’ school from 2026.[23] Subsequently, on 25 November, former School Presidents, Helen Nugent AC and Roger Massy-Greene AM, formed an independent Nominations Committee to make recommendations to the current Council on nominations for new members of Council.[24] 13 new Councillors were subsequently appointed.

Four Corners investigation and allegations of sexual harassment and toxic culture

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In March 2024, the investigative journalism program Four Corners released an investigation about the alleged toxic and sexist "boys club" culture within the school's student body and leadership. Multiple former staff members and students were interviewed about sexual harassment of female staff. Former teaching staff described being sexually harassed, insulted, and threatened by students. A former teacher, who was blackmailed by a student saying he would claim she was abusing him if she did not send him sexual images, said that the incident was downplayed by Head of Senior School and Deputy Headmaster Bob Meakin, who allegedly stated that "because I'm young and, 'I'm just going to say it – attractive,' it's not [surprising] that I've received attention from the boys".[25][26]

After the investigation was aired and published online, investigative journalist Louise Milligan stated that she, the ABC, and multiple other journalists had received several legal threats regarding the content of the investigation. Headmaster Nicholas Sampson was forced to resign by the school council later in the week after it was revealed that he had not disclosed information to the school council about a teacher who, early in his employment at Cranbrook, had sent explicit emails to a former student of his at another, previous school in which he described sexual fantasies about her and other female students he had previously taught. While the teacher was investigated by police and not found to have behaved criminally, Sampson had in 2015 been informed about the emails and, in addition to not informing the school council about them, appeared have glossed over the teacher's behaviour.

The episode included details of how a petition in 2021, by Chanel Contos received over 2,500 testimonies of sexual assault from high school students, with many testimonies referring to Cranbrook students, as well as students from other elite all-boys schools.[27][28]

Government funding

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Cranbrook received about $6.5 million in state and federal government funding in 2022.[29] This is despite the school charging up to $46,000 per year for domestic students (not including boarding fees),[30] paying their headmaster over $1 million per year,[31] having $168 million in assets and running a $10 million profit as recently as 2019.[32]

In 2021, Cranbrook spent more on works ($63.48 million) than the total public school capital expenditure of Tasmania and the Northern Territory combined ($62.4 million).[33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cranbrook School". Schools. Study in Australia. 2005. Retrieved 18 January 2008.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Cranbrook School". Member Directory. International Girls' Schools Coalition. 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2008.
  3. ^ "Cranbrook School". School Directory. SchoolSeek. 2008. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  4. ^ a b c "Cranbrook School NESA Annual Report 2021" (PDF). Cranbrook School. October 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Annual Report 2006" (PDF). Publications. Cranbrook School. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  6. ^ "AHISA Schools". New South Wales. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. January 2008. Archived from the original on 2 November 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  7. ^ "JSHAA New South Wales Directory of Members". New South Wales Branch. Junior School Heads' Association of Australia. 2008. Archived from the original on 17 January 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  8. ^ "Cranbrook School". Schools. Australian Boarding Schools' Association. 2007. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  9. ^ "International Members". HMC Schools. The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Archived from the original on 15 March 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  10. ^ "Combined Associated Schools". CAS. Cranbrook School. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  11. ^ "ABC to air 'hit job' on Sydney's elite Cranbrook School". the australian.
  12. ^ Paterson, Kate (10 April 2018). "Demolition Report. Cranbrook School". Major Projects. Planning Portal. NSW Govt. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Cranbrook Centenary". cranbrookcentenary.com.au. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  14. ^ Baker, Jordan (27 July 2022). "'Inevitable step forward': Cranbrook's high school to become fully co-ed". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  15. ^ BarkerCollege.Website. "Barker is a fully coed school from Pre-K to Year 12". BarkerCollege.Website. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  16. ^ Badham, Van (5 March 2024). "The ABC's Cranbrook school investigation shows why Australia needs to turn its back on single-sex cultures built on exclusion". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Houses - Cranbrook School". www.cranbrook.nsw.edu.au. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Trophies Awarded – cas-web". 17 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Old Cranbrookians'". About Us. Cranbrook School. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  20. ^ "Cranbrook School delayed acting on Nazi salutes, anti-Semitism, families say". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  21. ^ "'A moral duty': Cranbrook undertakes review after anti-Semitic reports". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  22. ^ Healey, Bianca (16 January 2023). "NSW Board of Jewish Deputies CEO Darren Bark calls for statewide Holocaust education". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  23. ^ "'Untenable': Cranbrook School councillors quit as internal feud escalates". Sydney Morning Herald. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  24. ^ "NEW MEMBERS OF CRANBROOK SCHOOL COUNCIL ANNOUNCED" (PDF). Cranbrook School. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  25. ^ "Former female staff at Sydney's elite Cranbrook School warn of 'toxic' culture as it prepares to go co-ed". ABC News. ABC. 4 March 2024.
  26. ^ Teachers blackmailed and bullied at one of Australia's most exclusive boys' schools | Four Corners, 4 March 2024, retrieved 5 March 2024
  27. ^ Zhou, Naaman; Visontay, Elias (22 February 2021). "Viral petition against student sexual assault a 'wake-up call', Sydney private school principals say". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  28. ^ Nilsson, Anton (27 February 2021). "Prefect at private school calls for a change in attitudes in wake of petition about sex assault". 9News. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  29. ^ "Cranbrook School under investigation by federal government". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  30. ^ https://www.cranbrook.nsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Cranbrook-School-Fee-Schedule-2024-4-1.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  31. ^ "Cranbrook School under investigation by federal government". 8 March 2024.
  32. ^ "How Australia's top private schools are growing richer". 17 June 2021.
  33. ^ "These five private schools spent more on capital works than 3300 public schools". 22 February 2024.

Further reading

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