King’s School principal Tony George hits back at ‘woke’ criticism surrounding ‘misogynistic’ culture at elite private boys’ schools as he rejects ‘age of victimhood’

The principal of a $40,000-a-year school has lashed out at recent criticism of private boys’ schools and their perceived culture of misogyny.

In the King’s School Institute magazine: LeaderTony George argued that “wokeness” has evolved into the “age of victimhood” and “cancel culture.”

He later said private school students are “increasingly being targeted and ridiculed” by media reports.

“Government single-sex schools seemed to avoid criticism, as did single-sex schools,” he wrote in the scathing article for the North Parramatta school in Sydney’s west.

“However, the underlying agenda against the stooge of white privileged men has fueled the creation of the term toxic masculinity and the religious fervor it subsequently generates.”

‘The concept of identity abuse, where individuals are misrepresented and objectified for sensationalism, is a disturbing trend where children attending non-government schools are increasingly targeted and ridiculed.’

Mr George’s comments come after questions were raised over whether there is a toxic culture of sexism and misogyny at some of Australia’s top private schools.

A viral petition circulating in 2021 brought the issue into focus, with as many as 3,000 girls claiming to have been sexually abused during their school years.

This month, Cranbrook School in Sydney’s Bellevue Hill came under increased scrutiny after an episode of ABC Four Corners alleged that a teacher who admitted to looking up girls’ skirts and sending lurid emails had been promoted.

Cranbrook, along with Newington inland, will become fully co-ed in the coming years, but other headteachers have reiterated their commitment to single-sex education.

Mr George also took aim at the media, which he said is too often focused on the price of school fees rather than prioritizing other important issues.

‘Rather than recognizing and celebrating the important achievements and contribution of independent schools to society, sections of the government and the press seem intent on mocking independent boys’ schools with every story they can concoct, invariably citing kind of clickbait memes that tickle memetic clichés. such as toxic masculinity, linked to narratives of single-sex education, or elitism linked to narratives of school fees and funding,” he said.

“Consider, for example, the tabloid infatuation with the fees of the top 1 per cent of schools, rather than the brain drain affecting more than 90 per cent of state schools in NSW from their own selective schools.”

Mr George told the Sydney Morning Herald that other states have moved to a more comprehensive assessment of success by focusing on the average ATAR rather than the proportion of students scoring in the top band in their subject.

Mr George also took aim at today’s media, which he said too often focuses on the price of school fees rather than prioritizing other important issues.

He said he can’t help but think the Greiner government’s push to expand the NSW state’s selective school system was a response to the tabloids’ fascination with the performance of the best student in each school.

It remains unclear how well enrollments are going at single-sex private schools in Sydney’s inner west and south west this year.

Last year the NSW Department of Education commissioned PR agency SEC Newgate to gauge community attitudes towards co-education. The survey found that 76 percent of parents of primary school-age children wanted their child to attend a coeducational secondary school.

A major overhaul of 20 catchment areas in the western and southern suburbs this year has given thousands more families access to co-educational schools.