Shore School principal Tim Petterson has been sacked after the school’s governing board said a culture review had found new leadership needed.
Former St. Andrew’s Cathedral school principal John Collier has been appointed interim while a new principal is in office.
Tim Petterson is only the eighth principal of Shore School in over 130 years.
The decision comes amid deep divisions between 133-year-old Anglican school staff and parents about Petterson’s educational leadership and management style. Since it began in 2020, more than 90 staff members have left.
Earlier this year, Petterson admitted that his leadership had left teachers sad, angry and frightened in a long apology to school staff, saying he had been unwittingly “disrespectful, insensitive and reckless.”
The apologies came after teachers wrote to the school’s governing board about their concerns, which included low staff morale. Concerns were also raised with Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel.
Critics also argued that he did not have enough experience to transform Shore, which was founded by a law of parliament and has an annual revenue of $ 65 million.
Last term, the board hired consultant Rhonda Brighton-Hall to review the school’s leadership culture, identify the motives behind the divisions, and explore concerns about Petterson’s leadership.
The review included confidential interviews, written submissions and an anonymous survey and was presented to board chairman Bay Warburton late last quarter.
Petterson was briefed on the board’s decision this week as the school was preparing to accommodate the boys in the third quarter. Friday is reported to the school community.