The Kings School goes for a row over headmaster’s jaunt

Since earliest colonial times, we’ve exhibited a wonderful disdain and comic appreciation for our self-presumed elite’s often slavish admiration for the British class system but, occasionally, they outdo themselves in sheer dumb arrogant pomposity.

The King’s School ticked all those boxes last year, effortlessly playing into outsider prejudices by sending headmaster Tony George on a business-class trip with his wife to the UK to watch the Royal Henley Regatta. Now for the punchline: the costs of his wife’s flights will have to be repaid after a NSW Education Department investigation found the jaunt an improper use of school funds and a breach of the Education Act.

Thirteen months ago, the Herald reported on turmoil within the school over the plan for George, his deputy and their wives to fly first-class to attend the regatta. The school’s first VIII was to compete in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup, a race dominated by Eton College, an alma mater of princes and prime ministers. The King’s School at the time portrayed the regatta as presenting an opportunity for the headmaster to engage with other members of the Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference, a group of more than 350 independent schools, “recognised as best-in-class” and adding that “as a school of global standing, international relationships are essential to sustaining and developing key initiatives”.

But such hubris did not wash with everyone at the school. Plans for the trip, estimated to have cost at least $45,000, prompted an old boys’ representative on the school’s board to quit, and sparked concern among others that the expenses had not been put before the whole council for approval. The furore saw George, and his wife eventually downgrade their tickets to business class, and the deputy pay for the trip out of his own pocket.

Then, late last year the NSW Department of Education launched an investigation into The King’s School’s possible misuse of taxpayer funding after consulting the non-government schools not-for-profit advisory committee. Under the Education Act, non-government schools receiving public funding must ensure all income is used for the education of its students. The audit followed not only news reports of the UK trip but the revelation of plans to install a plunge pool at George’s headmaster’s residence.

In February, the school was ordered to scrap the pool. Now comes the demand to repay business-class fares. The King’s School’s petty profligacy is hard to fathom.

For a start, the optics are appalling. The idea of the headmaster and his wife swanning off for tea and scones at Henley-on-Thames sits awkwardly beside sacrifices most parents in the private school system make to ensure their sons and daughters obtain the sort of education they believe will take them through their adult lives.

Then there is the question of the allocation of public funds that underwrite the private system. The King’s School received almost $20 million in recurrent funding from state and Commonwealth governments in 2020 as well as gathering more than $58 million in fees, charges and parent contributions that year. Fees range from $24,000 for preschoolers to $40,000 for year 12s. Boarding costs $69,000.

The Herald has long advocated responsibility and transparency in the use of public funds in education. Private schools can spend money how they wish on capital works and the like, but there is a line that should not be crossed. The Kings’s School did cross that line and the government crackdown on its wasteful, indeed conceited, spending habits is clearly warranted. The lesson here is that private schools must have a sensible approach to spending, and cannot be allowed to do whatever they want.

Bevan Shields sends an exclusive newsletter to subscribers each week. Sign up to receive his Note from the Editor.