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Elite school headmaster resigns in the wake of damning exposé

<p>The headmaster at an elite Sydney school has resigned after a damning exposé about historic toxicity and sexism within the school. </p> <p>Cranbrook School headmaster Nicholas Sampson announced his resignation on Thursday night after an emergency meeting was called to discuss the serious allegations made by former staff members in an episode of <em>Four Corners</em>.</p> <p>In the damning episode, former staffers shared their experiences of the "toxic boys's club" and systemic sexism in the school, which the <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/elite-school-teacher-blackmailed-for-naked-photos-by-student" target="_blank" rel="noopener">female teachers</a> allege was swept under the rug by the headmaster and his deputy.</p> <p class="paragraph_paragraph___QITb" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;">In a statement to the school community on Friday morning, the council said, "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 <em>Four Corners</em> broadcast, have led to an irrevocable breakdown of trust between the Headmaster and the School Council."</p> <p class="paragraph_paragraph___QITb" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;">"The School Council communicated this to Mr Sampson and this morning received his resignation."</p> <p><span style="font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">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".</span> </p> <p>Sampson's resignation comes after <span style="font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">revelations he kept a teacher on staff after discovering he sent multiple graphic emails to a former female student. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica Neue, Arial, sans-serif;">The teacher in question was still working at Cranbrook this week and had recently been promoted. Cranbrook confirmed on Friday he is now on immediate leave pending an investigation.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica Neue, Arial, sans-serif;">Image credits: Cranbook School</span></em></p>

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Fake school headmaster ordered to pay back career earnings

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>Neil Lennie, disgraced former Melbourne school principal, has been ordered to pay back the half a million in wages he earned after he was exposed as a fraud.</p> <p>He claimed he had various degrees and used his father's legitimate teaching registration over a 24-year career between 1976 and 2000.</p> <p>He worked across Victoria's Mount Scopus Memorial College, Haileybury College and Overnewton Anglican Community College.</p> <p>Lennie admitted in Victoria's County Court to four counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception to the tune of $843,567.</p> <p>He was also sentenced to three months in jail which was wholly suspended as well as being given a 12-month community corrections order.</p> <p>He has since been ordered to pay back $500,000 in earnings as the judge found that his lies caused no loss or harm.</p> <p>References also described him as an "excellent educator", with leading infectious diseases expert Professor Sharon Lewin AO describing him as the best teacher she'd ever had.</p> <p>“I often credit Mr Lennie with my enduring love of science, pursuit of academic excellence and self-belief in my own capabilities in science,” she wrote in a letter to the court.</p> <p>“I remember him very clearly telling me that I was capable of doing anything in life and to shoot for the stars.</p> <p>“As a young woman in the 1970s, I now understand that this kind of encouragement for women in science was most unusual.”</p> <p><em>Photo credits:<span> </span></em><a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/news/court-justice/school-headmaster-neil-lennie-in-melbourne-ordered-to-pay-back-wages-after-faking-his-way-through-career-c-2934137" target="_blank"><em>7NEWS</em></a></p> </div> </div> </div>

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