Tears fall at Cambridge High

By STUART DYE and AINSLEY THOMSON

When Alison Annan strode into Cambridge High School in 1992 she was impressive. Assertive, ambitious and immaculately groomed, she told the board of trustees that, if given the principal's job, she would make changes.

The small Waikato school had a poor reputation. The common joke was that the only academic table in which it ranked highly was the number of students dropping out with no qualifications.

Annan told her potential new employers that, if they backed her to the hilt, she would change that. The board was impressed enough to offer Annan the job.

Those who have met her describe her as no-nonsense, supremely confident woman. A Herald reporter who interviewed her last year remembers being impressed by her forcefulness. Annan once said: "I wanted Cambridge High to be the top school in Waikato and people just grinned at me as though I'd lost the plot."

But it was evident yesterday that she polarised opinions. As news of her resignation broke some teachers were in tears. Head boy Oliver Searle was close to it. But other students said Annan destroyed the school in her efforts to make herself shine.

Whether by design or otherwise, Annan certainly began to shine after taking the reins.

High standards of behaviour, rigid formality, a steely academic focus and strict discipline were the key philosophies. Results were turned around and the roll grew. The stunning NCEA performance which shot the school to the top of the country's academic league tables was the icing on the cake.

For two years the school enjoyed a 100 per cent pass rate, and in 2002's combined qualification results for NCEA, Sixth Form Certificate and Bursary, Cambridge came second behind Auckland's elite St Cuthbert's College. It was the only state school in the top 10.

For Annan's supporters it was the ultimate justification. For Annan it was the pinnacle of a career that began at Christchurch Girls High School, where she was a pupil. She was appointed assistant principal at Otaki College in 1988, and deputy principal in 1990 before moving to Cambridge two years later.

Her disciplinarian style was first publicly called into question in 1996 when she suspended 14 students indefinitely for cannabis use.

Her zero-tolerance attitude raised eyebrows again in 2002 when a 15-year-old was suspended for five days for penning the infamous "boner" essay - an assignment on "how does your body betray you".

That same year a community group was formed to make representations to the Ministry of Education over concerns about the running of the school.

Then last year a student claimed unit standards were being handed out for tasks such as picking up litter.

Allegations surfaced of staff bullying, manipulation of exam results and financial mismanagement. Since then she has refused to speak publicly. Yesterday she ducked the media as she hurried from the school.