Barr quits job after porn watching incident
Former Scotch Oakburn College principal Andrew Barr has resigned from an elite interstate school, The Geelong College.
FORMER Scotch Oakburn College principal Andrew Barr has resigned from an elite interstate school after being sprung watching pornography on his office computer.
The Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, of which Mr Barr is an ex-chairman, says it is shocked and deeply saddened by his indiscretion.
Mr Barr stepped down from The Geelong College last week after an investigation launched by the school's council.
Mr Barr was caught viewing adult pornography at the school shortly before Easter, with a photograph taken through his window and distributed on social media platform SnapChat.
It is understood the photograph was widely circulated.
Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia chairman Phillip Heath insisted Mr Barr's behaviour was completely out of character.
He said Mr Barr and his family had been left feeling deeply humiliated, saying the indiscretion appeared to have been fuelled by personal pain and stress.
"We respect the decision Andrew has made to uphold the integrity of the position and the school," Mr Heath said.
"We have a long history in schools and other institutions where less integrity has been shown than we're seeing at present."
He said Mr Barr, who could not be contacted by The Examiner yesterday, still had the association's full support.
The Geelong College council chairman Hugh Seward said the incident breached school standards, but emphasised that Mr Barr had not broken any laws.
"The council immediately looked into the matter and when our concerns were confirmed, Andrew Barr tendered his resignation," Dr Seward said.
He said the college community was hurting, and was concerned for the welfare of Mr Barr's young family.
"However, the school has a strong set of leaders and a well-established vision for the future and we must focus on our task," Dr Seward said.
Mr Barr served as principal of Scotch Oakburn College for 10 years before joining The Geelong College in 2013.
Scotch Oakburn College declined to comment.