THE head of The Geelong College has resigned after being photographed viewing pornography on his office computer.

Andrew Barr, one of the most respected private school leaders in Australia was photographed through a window as he was watching adult pornography at the school and that photograph was then distributed on the social media site Snapchat.

The photograph was then brought to the attention of the school council and an investigation was launched including accessing Mr Barr’s computer.

Inquiries by the Geelong Advertiser have revealed that on March 30 the council first became aware of the photograph and at a meeting of the council on April 2, Mr Barr offered his resignation and it was accepted.

Yesterday the chairman of The Geelong College council Dr Hugh Seward said “the matter was a breach of our standards”.

“The matter was taken very seriously,” he said.

“Just before Easter The Geelong College council became aware of a matter of concern that might constitute a breach of our standards.

“The council immediately looked into the matter and when our concerns were confirmed Andrew Barr tendered his resignation.’’

Dr Seward said the school investigation confirmed Mr Barr had not broken any law and “at no point did it affect the care provided to students”.

Yesterday, The Geelong College wrote to the parents of all students at the prestigious school saying “the council had become aware that Mr Barr had breached the standards upon which The Geelong College was built. Subsequently, Mr Barr tendered his resignation to the council and it was accepted”.

Dr Seward told the Geelong Advertiser: “I would like to emphasise that our college community is hurting and we have concern for the welfare of the young Barr family. But we must deal with our difficult situation.

“However, the school has a strong set of leaders and a well-established vision for the future and we must focus on our task, which is providing the outstanding education for which we are renowned. We have already begun the process of finding our new principal and on Tuesday we will be welcoming back our students to begin the next term.”

Andrew Barr is the former chairman of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, and joined The Geelong College in 2013 after 10 years serving as principal of Scotch Oakburn College, and was also a senior member of staff at Scotch College and Caulfield Grammar in Melbourne.