A co-ed rebellion by Newington old boys is out of step and now over

A breakaway group opposed to Newington College enrolling girls has deservedly been thwarted in its bid to gain control of the influential old boys’ council executive and the school remains on track to go coeducational from 2026.

The result of an online vote to elect a new president and council of the Old Newingtonians’ Union saw the group, Save Newington College, fail to win any representation in a field of nominees divided between the anti-coeducation camp and a “unity” ticket of candidates who would not fight the college’s decision.

As the Herald’s education editor Lucy Carroll reports, Ed Miller, a consultant and former GetUp! activist who campaigned on “lowering the temperature” on the co-ed debate, emerged victorious in the presidential ballot by a margin of some 12 per cent. His “Your ONU” running mates won every other position, including the treasurer and 10 councillor posts.

Newington announced last year it would admit girls to the junior campus from 2026. Female students would join the senior school two years later. The move sparked a fierce backlash from some parents and alumni who spent months lobbying the private school to have the decision reversed. There have been public protests outside the school’s Stanmore campus, threats of legal action by Save Newington College and a special general meeting that resulted in a resolution spilling the leadership of the old boys group.

As the Herald has noted previously, there are increasing signs that the tide is going out on single-sex education. Newington joins a growing list of private schools that are either considering going co-ed or have already done so. These include Cranbrook and Barker College, four Sydney Catholic schools in the inner west, Maroubra and north shore, The Armidale School in NSW and Canberra Grammar in the ACT. St Mary’s Cathedral College, a 200-year-old all-boys institution in Sydney’s CBD, is enrolling girls next year.

Australia is one of the few nations that is still having arguments over single-sex schools even though it is a system that evolved in a world with little resemblance to modern life. Many NSW single-sex schools were established when girls were not expected to pursue careers but those days have long gone and many are now not only exemplars of achievement but have quietly gone their own way and decided on coeducation without the attention paid to boys’ schools wrestling with the issue.

Just as it is not defensible to segregate students because of socioeconomic status, race or culture, it is harder to argue that segregation based on sex or gender is acceptable, not least because research shows single-sex classrooms risk inflating stereotyping and sexist attitudes. And with so many private schools evolving into massive big businesses, going co-ed would open an entire new market to Newington.

Yet, heartened by its 40 per cent vote in the presidential election, the Save Newington College group is still considering legal action. It seems unaware the embarrassing failure to win representation on the alumni board confirms its rebellion is over.

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