Selective schools try to harness power of old school tie We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Dismiss Normal text size Advertisement Cranbrook, a high-fee eastern suburbs boys’ college attended by generations of business moguls, excels at fundraising. It is budgeting for $125 million to come from parents and alumni for a new Centenary building, and is poised to receive a significant donation from Atlassian multibillionaire Scott Farquhar if it proceeds with plans to become co-educational. Mr Farquhar’s own school was a public one, the selective James Ruse Agricultural High. It has topped the state in the HSC for 25 years – far outstripping Cranbrook in its academic success – and produced thousands of doctors, lawyers and chief executives. But the school has contact details for just 150 of them, and its trust account has less than 1 per cent of Cranbrook’s millions.