A student at the school attempted to blackmail the female teacher, demanding she send him nude photos or he would accuse her of sexual assault. 

The incident is just one of a number of claims made on Four Corners about the allegedly toxic culture at Cranbrook School, one of the country’s most prestigious institutions where tuition costs up to $46,000 per year.

The student in question was suspended and chose to leave the school for good, and later wrote an apologetic letter to Ms Hyde.

“I have caused so much hurt and disappointment to you, my teachers and the wider school community, my friends and my family,” he said in the letter. 

But Ms Hyde was not happy with the school’s response, and took her complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

“In my experience, Cranbrook did not have a safe, inclusive and supportive culture for me and its female teaching staff,” she told the commission in October 2023.

“That must change. It must change for my sake, and it must change for the sake of your current and future teaching staff, and the many young girls who are about to embark on their studies at Cranbrook.”

According to Ms Hyde, she was taken to a cafe by the headmaster and his deputy after she made the claims against the student, to which the deputy head of school suggested it was no surprise she received attention from the boys because she was good-looking.

“Justifying sexual harassment empowers future abuse,” she told the commission.

“This is the standard that Cranbrook management condones, the tone from the top — that young, attractive women at your school should not only expect but tolerate sexual harassment. I wonder how the parents of your future female students would feel about this.”

Cranbrook reportedly apologised, saying in a statement the deputy never intended to offend and was “sorry if [he] has done so”.

In the hours after the Four Corners program aired, Cranbrook School Council issued a statement saying it was “concerned by the allegations raised” in the program but “remains fully supportive of the headmaster and the school’s leadership”.

“Cranbrook takes all allegations of abuse, and its duty of care to its students, extremely seriously and follows relevant and mandatory reporting processes in relation to these matters,” Cranbrook School Council president Geoff Lovell said.

“We acknowledge survivors and their stories. No school is ever exempt from scrutiny or, where deserved, criticism. We offer sympathy to the grievances aired by former staff.”

Image credits: ABC / Google