Selective schools try to harness power of old school tie
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Cranbrook, a high-fee eastern suburbs boys’ college attended by generations of business moguls, excels at fundraising. It is budgeting for $125 million to come from parents and alumni for a new Centenary building, and is poised to receive a significant donation from Atlassian multibillionaire Scott Farquhar if it proceeds with plans to become co-educational.
Mr Farquhar’s own school was a public one, the selective James Ruse Agricultural High. It has topped the state in the HSC for 25 years – far outstripping Cranbrook in its academic success – and produced thousands of doctors, lawyers and chief executives. But the school has contact details for just 150 of them, and its trust account has less than 1 per cent of Cranbrook’s millions.