By Lucy Carroll
A breakaway faction of anti-coeducation campaigners have failed in their bid to stop plans by Newington College to admit girls to the historic private school.
At a special general meeting at the college’s Centennial Hall on Wednesday night, members of the school’s old boys union elected Edward Miller as its new president, defeating the Save Newington group by approximately 1400 votes to 1100.
All-boys private school Newington College plans to become fully co-educational by 2033.Credit: Steven Siewert
The Old Newingtonians’ Union has been embroiled in a bitter public feud for months, with one group of members, known as Save Newington, opposing the move to co-ed, while another faction, Your ONU, is more supportive of the move to enrol girls.
Miller, who graduated from Newington in 2008 and led the Your ONU coalition, campaigned on a “unity” ticket, vowing not to resist the all-boys school’s plans to become fully co-educational within a decade.
“I believe most people are sick and tired of relentless hostility, negativity and undermining over the decision of Newington to co-ed,” Miller said. “I want [former students] to have a choice over the tone and focus of their alumni council.
“There are people on the Your ONU group that may have preferred the school didn’t go co-ed, but now they’ve made the decision, we are keen to work with them. I am personally in favour of the move.”
New members of the Old Newingtonians’ Union who were elected on Wednesday.
The vote for 15 executive positions on the old boys union, including officers and president, took place over two weeks via an online secret ballot. The positions were left vacant after a leadership spill in March.
After being elected on Wednesday, Miller, an executive and former GetUp activist, said in a social media post he plans “to seek out, listen to, and advocate for those who have practical concerns about the transition to co-ed.
“We want to make the best of the changes – which means managing risks, improving communication, and standing up for things that we want to see safeguarded.”
Miller said the result was “conclusive, with a margin of more than 12 per cent at the top, YourONU was successful up and down the ballot”.
“This election was about all of us wanting to move past a climate of hostility and hyperbole that has embroiled the school for too long.”
In a letter to parents on Thursday, Newington’s school council president, Tony McDonald, congratulated the new old boys’ union officers, saying he was optimistic that “a positive, constructive relationship between the ONU and the college will reflect the values and codes of behaviour” of the school’s community.
Newington announced late last year that it would admit girls in the junior school from 2026, and become a fully co-educational campus by 2033. The decision triggered fierce backlash from some parents and former students who have lobbied to have the decision reversed.
In January, parents and old boys protested outside the main Stanmore school gates, while others threatened legal action against the school council.
Edward Miller, an executive and former GetUp! activist, was elected president of the Old Newingtonians’ Union after the council positions were left vacant following a leadership spill earlier this year.
Ian Webster, a spokesperson for the Save Newington group, said the shift to co-ed would diminish education choice in the inner west, with “the number of boys’ schools [in that area] falling to two, compared to eight girls-only schools”.
“The Save Newington group are letting the dust settle and reassessing our next steps. The college council has indicated they will be unmoved by the outcome of the ONU vote, and they will continue with their stated policies. But there are many challenges ahead when half your constituency are opposed,” Webster said.
“The legal challenge hasn’t gone away, and parents that are pursuing that are methodically working through that issue. We will continue to advocate strongly for a fairer system that protects the right of boys and girls to have equal education choice.”
More than 45.5 per cent of Newington alumni voted for change, and greater scrutiny of the college council, he said.
“The vote showed that widespread dissatisfaction about the school’s direction exists across all generations, from recent graduates to parents and grandparents of current teenage students,” Webster said.
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