Somerville House Principal to Step Down After Student Data Leak

The principal of a prestigious Brisbane girls' school has announced her resignation following a data security scandal involving sensitive student information.

Somerville House principal Sandra Hastie will step down at the end of Term 1, with her final day scheduled for April 3.

Parents were informed of the decision in a letter sent on Thursday by chief executive officer Alan Swanson, which cited "family reasons" for Dr Hastie's departure. No further detail was provided.

"After much consideration, Dr Hastie has made the decision to step down from her role at the end of Term 1, 2026," the letter stated.
"The Somerville House staff, School Advisory Council and all of us at the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association respect and support her decision."

The correspondence also confirmed Dr Hastie will relocate to New Zealand to take up the role of executive principal at Auckland's Diocesan School for Girls.

The school has begun the process of recruiting a new principal, with an interim appointment to be made in the coming months.

The resignation follows a recent incident in which students discovered a document uploaded by teachers to an unsecured Microsoft Teams server. The file, reportedly accessible to the public, contained personal and critical remarks about students and parents, including comments on appearance and behaviour.

The incident sparked concern among families and raised broader questions about data handling and staff conduct within the school.