Cranbrook School principal Nicholas Sampson resigns following explosive allegations
The headmaster of a prestigious Sydney boys school has resigned following bombshell allegations he kept a teacher on staff who sent sexually explicit emails to an ex-student.
Cranbrook School principal Nicholas Sampson has stepped down immediately in the wake of the allegations aired on ABC’s Four Corners.
The male teacher, who has not been named, allegedly sent emails detailing lurid sexual fantasies to a former female student at a school where he was previously employed.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Cranbrook’s school council president Geoff Lovell said in a letter to parents on Friday morning that Mr Sampson had allowed the teacher to continue working at the single sex school despite being aware of the allegations.
Mr Sampson also had not informed the school’s board of the allegations against the teacher.
The council held an emergency meeting to discuss those allegations and on Friday morning made a statement addressing the resignation.
“The circumstances of the matter and subsequently Mr Sampson’s failure to disclose the matter to the current School Council in the context of this week’s ABC Four Corners broadcast, have led to an irrevocable breakdown of trust between the Headmaster and the School Council,” the statement said.
“The School Council communicated this to Mr Sampson and this morning received his resignation.”
The council said it, “deeply regrets the distress to our students, our staff, our parents, our alumni and the broader Cranbrook family arising from the current circumstances”.
The head of the junior school, Michele Marquet will be acting principal.
Mr Lovell said in a letter to parents on Friday that Mr Sampson resigned after the board learned “for the first time of allegations of an extremely concerning past conduct matter involving a current senior school teacher at Cranbrook”.
“The allegations do not involve past or present Cranbrook students. The senior school teacher involved was immediately placed on leave pending the school’s further assessment of the matter,” Mr Lovell’s letter said.
More to come.
