The president of Newington college’s alumni union has been voted out of his position amid the continuing fracas over the school’s decision to admit girls.
The vote does not stop the school’s progress toward becoming co-educational, a decision made by the school council, which is distinct from the Old Newingtonian Union (ONU) council, an alumni network.
Nearly 800 former students of Newington college, a $40,000-a-year private school in Sydney’s inner west, gathered for a special general meeting on Wednesday night, with alumni flying in from across the country to cast their ballots.
The men voted in favour of all five of the resolutions put to the group, in each case by a very slim margin of 51-52% for and 48-49% opposed.
The resolutions included votes of no confidence in the headteacher and the ONU and asking the council to “use all available measures to see the reversal of the decision … to transition Newington College to co-education”.
The special general meeting had far more in attendance than anticipated, with 794 former students registered to vote.
The outgoing president, Alexander Pagonis, wrote to alumni on Thursday afternoon saying he found it “unfortunate that one issue has managed to divide our membership”.
In November last year, the Newington school council announced the school would begin the transition to becoming co-educational, starting with the introduction of girls into kindergarten and year 5 in 2026, and years 7 and 11 in 2028, with the college fully co-educational by 2033.
The decision has prompted furious opposition from some parents and former students who protested outside the gates of the school after it returned from the summer holidays in late January, holding placards saying to “Save Newington” and asking “Why? After 160 years”.
Protesters told Channel Nine that they saw the decision to allow girls into the school as “woke, toxic-masculinity type palaver”. One former student, Tony Ratsos, told Nine News as he fought back tears: “I’m an old boy of the school, my son is also an old boy, and the intention was always that I’d have a grandson. But I won’t bring him to a co-ed school.”
Save Newington College, a group opposing the transition to co-education, said the move was “the most strategically impactful decision in the 161-year life of Newington College. It is an unnecessary, unjustified, and a widely unpopular decision.”
The group called for the special general meeting, held on Wednesday night, and in a message on its website called alumni of the school to attend the meeting, and “hit the phones and emails” to “convince your Old Boy mates to attend”, adding “without your help, Newington will be changed for ever”. Save Newington College was contacted for comment.
Tim Richter, a former student, said he was strongly in favour of the transition toward co-education at the school. His five-year-old son is enrolled and Richter was pleased his son would have the opportunity to learn alongside girls, something he said he thought would have “really benefited” him and his classmates.
“I was really happy they passed that change,” he said.
Richter said he was perplexed that former students, whose children have graduated from school, or are about to do so, would be as concerned about the decision to go co-educational as they are, saying the reactions from some alumni were “a bit extreme”.
“Just to be that passionate about it, for a school that you’ve basically got no connection with any more. But some people are a lot more attached to the school and the history,” he said.
“I thought the whole special general meeting was pretty extreme and over the top and wouldn’t resolve anything and would lead to a lot of bad blood between the old boys and the school,” he said.
