Cranbrook School is an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
day
A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...
and
boarding school, with multiple campuses in Sydney's
eastern suburbs New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, 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
students from early learning (4 years old) to
Year 12
Year 12 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the twelfth or thirteenth year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-comp ...
(18 years old),
including 80 boarders from Years 7 to 12. Cranbrook is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),
the
Junior School Heads Association of Australia
The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA) formerly Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), is an incorporated body representing the heads of independent primary schools in Australia.
Officially established in Septem ...
(JSHAA),
the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA),
and the
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools (both boarding schools ...
.
It is a founding member of the
Combined Associated Schools
The Associated Schools of NSW Inc, most commonly referred to as the Committee of Associated Schools (CAS), is a group of six independent schools located in Sydney, which share common interests, ethics, educational philosophy and contest sporting ...
(CAS).
and the Independent Sporting Association (ISA).
History
On 1 December 1917, the former private home and vice-regal residence,
Cranbrook, was bought at auction by an agent for
Samuel Hordern
Sir Samuel Hordern (24 September 1876 – 3 June 1956) was an Australian businessman, animal breeder and philanthropist. Born into the prominent Sydney trading family, Hordern directed the family company of Anthony Hordern & Sons from 1909 ...
. He was the main financial benefactor of a group of businessmen and churchmen aiming to establish an Anglican boys' school in the Eastern Suburbs.
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.
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.

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.
This integration method was based on
Barker College's co-ed integration in 2020. In March 2024, the school was featured in a
Four Corners
Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...
investigation into allegations of a
toxic workplace
A “toxic workplace” is a colloquial metaphor used to describe a place of work, usually an office environment, that is marked by significant personal conflicts between those who work there. A toxic work environment has a negative impact on an o ...
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.
Headmasters
Campuses
Cranbrook School is situated over five
campus
A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls.
By extension, a corp ...
es; the Senior School (Years 7 to 12) are located on the main campus in
suburban
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
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.
School Operation
House System
Cranbrook has a system of
houses
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
across the campuses. This system was created in 1931 as a way to organise students for a variety of sporting and intelectual competitions. It continues to this day as a way 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. The students attend a pastoral period every day where they engage with mentors and other peers in their house.
Curriculum
Starting from Pre-Schools, the school uses 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. It uses the
International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...
MYP program in years 7-10 as well as the PYP program in the Junior School.
Sport
Cranbrook School is a member of the
Combined Associated Schools
The Associated Schools of NSW Inc, most commonly referred to as the Committee of Associated Schools (CAS), is a group of six independent schools located in Sydney, which share common interests, ethics, educational philosophy and contest sporting ...
(CAS).
CAS premierships
Cranbrook School has won the following CAS premierships.
* 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
Alumni
Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...
of Cranbrook School are known as "Old Cranbrookians" and may elect to join the school's
alumni association
An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students ( alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, school
A school is the educati ...
, the Old Cranbrookians' Association (OCA).
Controversies and criticisms
Anti-Semitic incidents
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
The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened han ...
emerged. In September 2022, the school announced an internal review to look into it. 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.
Mass resignation from school council
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. 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. 13 new Councillors were subsequently appointed.
Four Corners investigation and allegations of sexual harassment and toxic culture
In March 2024, the
investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...
program
Four Corners
Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...
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
urprisingthat I've received attention from the boys".
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.
Government funding
Cranbrook received about $6.5 million in state and federal government funding in 2022.
This is despite the school charging up to $46,000 per year for domestic students (not including boarding fees), paying their headmaster over $1 million per year, having $168 million in assets and running a $10 million profit as recently as 2019.
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).
See also
*
List of non-government schools in New South Wales
This is a list of non-government schools in the state of New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders ...
*
List of Anglican schools in New South Wales
Below is list of the 62 Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican schools in the state of New South Wales.
See also
{{Portal, New South Wales, Christianity, Schools
* List of non-government schools in New South Wales
* Anglican education in Aus ...
*
List of boarding schools in Australia
*
Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition
*
''Leura''
References
Further reading
* "Two magic words give the signal for a 'school in a park, 20 June 2006, ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'' (now archived).
External links
*
{{authority control
Boarding schools in New South Wales
Anglican primary schools in Sydney
Anglican secondary schools in Sydney
Educational institutions established in 1918
Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
Combined Associated Schools
Boys' schools in New South Wales
Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools
1918 establishments in Australia
Rose Bay, New South Wales
John Horbury Hunt buildings
Bellevue Hill, New South Wales