29-05-2025
Girls shouldn't be allowed at my $42,000 private school: This is why
Former students of a private Sydney boy's school have lost a bid to keep the school single-sex after angry dads protested outside the campus.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of the $42,000-a-year school, paving the way to co-educational classes from kindergarten to Year 12.
The decision comes more than a year after former Newington student Tony Ratsos, 63, went viral after he wept while speaking out against the move in January 2023.
'I can't bond the same way as I do with these men with girls,' he told reporters as he joined dozens of other parents protesting outside the school.
'I can't look a girl in the eye and call her a Newingtonian, because that's not what the essence of the school is about.'
Supporters say the move would modernise the 161-year-old campus and support boys and girls working together, while critics say it's against its founding principles.
Justice Guy Parker ruled the school's 152-year-old trust deed, which said the school was set up to educate 'youth' did not imply the school should be boys-only.
'The object of such school shall be to provide an efficient course of education for youth,' the trust deed reads.
The parents argued that the word 'youth' in this document, while ambiguous, referred solely to boys because of circumstances at the time.
The school's council, on the other hand, said the term was gender-neutral.
Justice Parker agreed.
'I have concluded that the word 'youth' in the 1873 Trust Deed was used in a gender-neutral sense, and does not mandate male-only enrolment at the College,' he wrote.
'The claim for a declaration to the contrary... fails and must be dismissed.'
In his viral interview last year, Mr Retsos said that if the school were to go co-ed, 'that bond no longer applies, because the dynamics have changed'.
'It's more than just a school: It's your life, it's a community,' the old boy said.
'All those men today that were protesting, they're not strangers to me. They're my brothers. They're all old boys... it's a bond you can't break.'
The school, which charges fees of up to $42,200 a year, has exclusively taught boys since it was founded in 1863.
The civil suit was supported by the Save Newington College group, an alliance of former students and parents opposed to the co-ed move.
In a statement issued within minutes of the judge's ruling, the group said the decision was in direct opposition of the school's founding values.
'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,' it read.
'While 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.'
Newington's headmaster Michael Parker has welcomed the court's decision.
'We have been steadfast in our position throughout these proceedings and we remain excited to build on our rich history and traditions by taking Newington into our next era,' he wrote in a letter sent to the school's community.
'We look forward now to uniting around our future vision for Newington College as a respected, modern and dynamic school for boys, girls, young men and young women from next year and into the future.'
And the court case may not be over yet.
Justice Parker will later hear whether the parents will push claims that a male-only limitation applies to other property held by the school's council beyond the Stanmore property subject to the deed - including later-acquired lands.
Newington's co-ed plans come as the NSW government adjusts public school boundaries to ensure all students have guaranteed access to a co-educational school by 2027.
More than 150,000 girls and more than 130,000 boys attend single-sex schools across Australia, according to a 2023 Catholic schools discussion paper.
About five-in-six of those students are in non-government schools, like Newington.
