An elite private school for boys has named its first headmistress since it was founded more than a century ago.
The current headteacher of Ravenswood School for Girls, Anne Johnstone, will become the new headteacher of the private Cranbrook school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, which will be fully coeducational by 2029.
The historic announcement to students and staff was made on Thursday, saying Ms Johnstone will take up the most senior role since the start of term three in 2025. The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The Ravenswood principal will replace former Cranbrook principal Nicholas Sampson, who resigned from his million-dollar-a-year role in March after allegations of workplace bullying and historical abuse at the elite school.
Cranbrook council president Geoff Lovell wrote in a letter to parents that the appointment follows a “competitive recruitment process” that involved an extensive global search by recruiting firm Korn Ferry.
“The board was impressed by Anne’s energy, warmth, intellect, wisdom, deep educational experience and values,” he wrote.
“The board is confident that by appointing Anne as our new headteacher, we have secured a leader who can deliver on the hopes and aspirations of the school community.”
“And guide Cranbrook to become the best co-educational school possible.”
The current headteacher of Ravenswood School for Girls, Anne Johnstone (pictured), will become the new headteacher of Cranbrook in mid-2025.
Sydney’s exclusive private all-boys school Cranbrook (pictured) has been in the spotlight after ABC’s Four Corners program exposed allegations of bullying and a toxic culture.
Johnstone was an English and history teacher before landing the top job at Ravenswood, on Sydney’s upper north shore, in 2016.
She had previously been principal of Seymour College in Adelaide and deputy principal of the private Anglican girls’ school St Catherine’s.
Mrs Johnstone was also headmistress of St Catherine’s High School.
Cranbrook has been in the spotlight since ABC’s Four Corners exposed allegations of bullying on March 4, as well as a toxic culture.
Among the accusations issued was that a teacher was the victim of an attempted blackmail by a student, who demanded that she send him nude photos.
Other allegations came to light days later, claiming that Sampson knew that a teacher had sent sexually explicit messages to a former student, but had not told the board.
Former Cranbrook principal Nicholas Sampson (pictured) resigned in March after allegations of bullying at the school were exposed, but reached a confidential settlement with Cranbrook in June.
The Four Corners investigation led to the resignation of Mr Sampson, who had been headmaster at Cranbrook for ten years.
The school reached a confidential settlement with the former principal in June, saying the reason for his departure “may have caused confusion.”
The $46,500-a-year school counts the late billionaire Kerry Packer and his son James among its students.
The school announced in 2022 that it would begin accepting girls in years 7 and 11 from 2026 and would be fully coeducational in 2029.