The Armidale School headmaster Murray Guest has died in a car crash, the School’s Board has announced.
The Chairman of the Armidale School Board, Mr Sebastian Hempel, confirmed Guest's death on Tuesday in a statement posted on the school's website, saying Guest was “the sole occupant in a vehicle involved in a single car accident outside Armidale.”
The school community was advised of the tragic news on Tuesday afternoon, and students received the news at an all school assembly before being counselled in their pastoral care groups. The school said further counselling will also be made available to students and staff.
“Murray was appointed as the School's 13th Headmaster in 1998 and set it on the course of a new direction with vision, energy and purpose,” Hempel wrote.
In 2016, Guest’s bold vision saw the school break with its 123-year tradition by becoming the first Great Public School (GPS) to open its gates to female students.
However, Hempel said the “more enduring” impact Guest has made is on “generations of boys and girls who received their education under him.”
Hempel asked that the privacy of the school’s community be respected during this difficult time.
"Whilst there will be many wishing to pay their respects to his memory, our primary thoughts and prayers are with Murray's wife Joanne and their two children, for whom the whole School Community is united in its support,” Hempel wrote.