Newington College is a multi-campus independent Uniting Church co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school, primarily located in Stanmore, an Inner West suburb of Sydney, Australia. Established in 1863 at Newington House, Silverwater, the College celebrated its sesquicentenary in 2013. The college is open to children of all faiths and denominations. Newington has been governed by an Act of Parliament since 1922.
Newington has two preparatory schools for girls and boys: Wyvern House in Cambridge Street, Stanmore, and Lindfield on Sydney's Upper North Shore. Plus a senior campus and Early Learning Centre for girls and boys aged 3-5 in Stanmore.The College also has a campus on the Mid North Coast at Eungai Creek, where Newington's social service immersion program takes place. Newington currently caters for about 2000 students from their ELC to Year 12. Edmund Webb House, a boarding facility, is in Cambridge Street, Stanmore and is home to 50 boys. The Robert Glasson Memorial Boat Shed is on the Parramatta River at Abbotsford and also contains a boarding facility for thirty boys.Rowing
, Newington has 16 houses, expanded from eight houses in 2022 to strengthen the pastoral care system. The College is a member of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association, and is a founding member of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS).
The College prepares students for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, the Vocational Education and Training pathway, Cambridge IGSCE and the NSW Higher School Certificate.
In 2026, Newington became co-educational with the admittance of girls into Year 5 and Kindergaren at the Prep school in Stanmore and Year 5 at the Prep school in Lindfield. Female students will join in Year 7 and 11 in 2028, with the intention of becoming fully co-ed by 2031.
History
Early history The Reverend John Manton proposed that a collegiate institute, "decidedly Wesleyan in character" be founded in Sydney with a liberal enrolment policy of accepting children from ‘all religious denominations.’ On 16 July 1863, the Wesleyan Collegiate Institution opened with 16 pupils, with two theological students entering the following week.
Newington College, as the school soon became known, prospered during its time on the Parramatta River and in 1869 was the first Australian school to play rugby (against the University of Sydney), and soon after was the first school in Australia to hold an athletics carnival. In 1869, the Newington College Cadet Corps was formally incorporated by the Governor of New South Wales, Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore. It is one of the oldest continuous corps in the Australian Army Cadets.
Expanding student numbers meant that more extensive premises closer to the city were required. A bequest by John Jones of land at Stanmore saw the College move to the newly fashionable inner-city suburb. A grand stone edifice was designed by Thomas Rowe and was described by Morton Herman, an architectural historian, as 'an almost perfect example of scholastic Gothic Revival architecture'. The Thomas Rowe-designed Founder's Building, including its interior and surrounding grounds, are listed on the heritage register of the former Marrickville Council. Thomas Wran completed substantial architectural sculpture commissions on the capitals of the stone colonnade of the building. Retrieved 8 October 2021. Earth-moving work began on the site in 1876 and by May 1878 the building had reached first floor height. A public ceremony was held and six commemorative stones were laid. Among the six given the honour of laying the stones were Sir George Wigram Allen , the philanthropist who was Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. He had lent A£12,000 for the new buildings at Stanmore and later endowed the Wigram Allen Scholarship for boys proceeding to matriculation. The formal opening of the new school building was by Sir George on 18 January 1881. By resolution of the College Council, the name Newington College was perpetuated on the new site. Seventy school and theological students migrated from Silverwater to Stanmore.
Other local government heritage listings across the Newington campuses include the former Stanmore Methodist Church, also designed by Rowe in 1874 and now part of the Duckmanton Drama Centre, the Victorian Italianate-style parsonage that is now the Critical Thinking Centre; and at , the late 20th Century Robert Glasson Boatshed that replaced the 1920s original. A gymnasium was built in 1890, and a swimming pool was opened in 1894 however both have been replaced by a multi-court gymnasium and indoor swimming pool.
20th Century Newington ceased its connection to theological training in 1914, when the Wesleyan Theological Institution moved to the newly founded Leigh College at Strathfield South. In 1921, a stone war memorial, designed by Old Newingtonian William Hardy Wilson (ON 1898), was opened in memory of those old boys who had paid the supreme sacrifice in World War I. A separate preparatory school was opened in 1921, after a bequest by Sir Samuel McCaughey. It became known as Wyvern House in 1938, when a new building was opened by Old Newingtonian Sir Percival Halse Rogers (ON 1901).
The Stanmore Road boundary of the school is distinguished by a rusticated stone and wrought iron fence and two sets of entrance gates that were designed by Old Newingtonian military engineer and architect Colonel Alfred Warden (ON 1887).Newington College Memorial Drive Retrieved 24 April 2024. In 1936, the Millner gates were opened after a benefaction by Colonel Thomas Millner MC VD (ON 1903) in memory of his father. In 1938, the second set of gates were opened and named in honour of Frank Edwin Dixon who left £200 to the school in 1929.Swain, P.L. Newington Across the Years, A History of Newington College 1863 – 1998 (Sydney, 1999)
In 1925 a rowing facility was built at Abbotsford, and in 1957 another preparatory school was founded on the North Shore – first at Killara, and subsequently relocated to Lindfield. Since World War II, the College buildings and facilities expanded significantly under the ONU Honorary Architects Panel and the convenorship of Hedley Norman Carr (ON 1922).
During the headmastership of Tony Rae, the Senior Block (1972), Resources Centre Library (1975), and Chapel (1984) were opened. A new Physical Education Centre (1993) was opened by Old Newingtonian Nick Farr-Jones , and a new boatshed at Abbotsford (1995) were two of the most important property additions. In 1998, while Michael Smee was Headmaster, Wyvern House moved to a separate campus in Cambridge Street, Stanmore. The former Wyvern House building was then renovated and renamed the Le Couteur Wing in memory of former Headmaster Philip Le Couteur.
21st Century In 2007, Newington acquired the Concordia Club (the former German cultural club) on Stanmore Road for 3.51 million.Colleges go house-hunting to beat the urban squeeze Retrieved 12 April 2019. , Le Couteur was re-renovated and visual arts classes began to occupy the first floor with languages and learning enhancement classes held on level two.Le Couteur Centre Re-Opens retrieved 20 April 2014.
During 2006, the press reported on an industrial relations dispute at Newington in which then headmaster David Scott planned to force staff to re-apply for their jobs in a restructure that would also reduce their holidays. Scott said that 'The action was taken after a comprehensive review of the school and had nothing to do with the federal government's WorkChoices reforms'. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Scott believed that the Independent Education Union was being mischievous 'at best', or using an 'outright and deliberate lie' in suggesting the restructure was linked to workplace legislation. Following a meeting between the Union and Newington College, Scott agreed to not declare senior staff positions vacant and the school continued to negotiate collective arrangements covering salary and working conditions for staff.
David Mulford was appointed Headmaster in 2009 and served in that role until retiring in 2018. The Nesbitt Wing (1961), named in honour of College chairman Robert H. Nesbitt (1951–64), was refurbished and extended in 2012 to encompass the Technology Centre.Opening of the New Nesbitt Wing Retrieved 20 April 2014. Between 2009 and 2012 Newington spent 78 million on capital works; in 2012 33.7 million was outlaid on infrastructure alone.Elites open wallets in education 'arms race' Retrieved 20 April 2014. In 2013 the College celebrated its sesquicentenary with the opening of two new buildings honouring two former Headmasters – The Lawrence Pyke Science Centre and The Tony Rae Resources Centre Library. This development was awarded the Master Builders Association of New South Wales's Excellence in Construction Award and was funded by donations and parent fees.Elites open wallets in education 'arms race' Retrieved 12 April 2019. The facilities at the Stanmore campus cover over and contain a library, a 250-seat lecture theatre, the new boarders' dining room, a cafeteria, and science labs. In November 2013, the PE Centre was renamed the Taylor Sports Centre in honour of Old Newingtonian cricket and rugby union international Johnny Taylor (ON 1915). The naming was performed by Old Newingtonian Olympic rower and coach Michael Morgan (ON 1964).
On 18 July 2016, in commemoration of the sesquicentenary of Newington College's brother school Tupou College, the reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Tonga King Tupou VI and his wife Queen Consort Nanasipau'u visited the College to open the Tupou College Centre. The centre houses specialist teaching spaces and a health centre.
The Duckmanton Drama Centre was named in honour of Sir Talbot Duckmanton (ON 1938) and opened on 31 July 2017. Sir Talbot served on the Newington College Council from 1964 until 1978 and chaired the Council Executive Committee for five years.
Newington officially opened the Eungai Creek service-learning campus on 22 November 2025, although the campus first welcomed students for the term stay program at the beginning of that year. The campus has been recognised with a number of design awards including the 2026 NSW Architecture Award for Sustainable Architecture, a Commendation for Educational Architecture, the LEAD Award for New Campus with Educational Facilities, and a Commendation for Innovative Education Initiative.
Co-education On the 20 November 2023 it was officially announced that the College would be transitioning to co-education, with the College Council outlining a plan to begin introducing girls into Year 5 and Kindergardeten in 2026, Year 7 and 11 in 2028, with the intention of becoming fully co-ed by 2033.
In December 2024 a student at Newington College filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of NSW to challenge the College's decision to become co-educational. The plaintiff, known as "Student A" on an anonymisation order, stood against the Council of Newington College and 25 other defendants. The case rested on the definition of "youth" in the College's 1873 Trust Deed, with the plaintiff arguing that the term referred exclusively to boys and young men. In May 2025 the court ruled that "youth" applied to both male and female students as a gender-neutral term, allowing the transition to co-education to go ahead.
College Council The Newington College Council Act allows for the appointment of up to 24 members of the council: nine clerical appointments; nine lay appointments; and six members nominated by the Old Newingtonians Union (ONU). In April 2026, the College appointed the first female chair, Rachel Stock.
Chair of the Council Executive Committee