The chair of St Peter’s School board has rejected claims the private Cambridge school is facing another crisis following news Head of School Marcus Blackburn has gone on extended leave.
Marcus Blackburn, St Peter’s School
John Macaskill-Smith, who chaired the board in 2021 when principal Dale Burden left the school amid allegations of bullying, said Blackburn was on leave for “family reasons”, which he would not go into.
Contradicting claims of a toxic culture, he said “it’s a school that is thriving with great outcomes for the young people and staff”.
Blackburn emailed parents last week saying he was having to take an “immediate and extended period of leave for the remainder of Term Three.” He indicated he would be back on October 14. Campus principal Julie Small will act in his place.
The board held a meeting with parents, which Macaskill-Smith said had been scheduled for months, on Tuesday night after The News went to press
John Macaskill-Smith
Blackburn told The News several weeks after he started in his role last year that he was at the school to “facilitate the things we need to do to maximise the potential of the school”.
He was deputy headmaster and Head of Senior School at St Peter’s College in Adelaide from 2020-2022. The college is a boys only Anglican boarding and day school of 1500 boys. St Peter’s in Cambridge has a roll of 1200.
Former staff and some parents claim there is a “toxic culture” at the school and pinned the blame on Blackburn – but other parents told The News they were happy with the changes at the school and the latest drama was “just a beat up.”
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Marcus Blackburn, St Peter’s School
