A “jaw-dropping” investigation has revealed how Penrith’s grammar school breached rules and “knowingly” over-claimed £1.5 million of public funds which it now has to pay back.
The official publication of a 22-page report into costly improvements at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, paid for with public money, has seen parents demand education officials halt its “rushed” plan to join the Egremont-based West Lakes Multi-Academy Trust.
External education investigators — tipped-off by a whistleblower who raised concerns — found the school claimed £2.6 million in four government grants from the Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA), which it spent on works across the Ullswater Road site.
But a deep-dive review found that £1.5 million of that total had been over-claimed and instead of being returned, was spent on works “not in the scope” of the funding.
The report, made public for the first time, is littered with redactions to conceal the identity of individuals involved.
It found:
- Funding bids for the school were either misrepresented or were “materially inaccurate”.
- Under-spends and project surpluses were not paid back.
- Those monies were then used for other improvements which did not have approval or would have been rejected for funding.
- False completion returns and declarations were made to the Department for Education.
Among the worst revelations is that a single project management company was “introduced” to the school by a high-ranking school official and then, without any external tender exercise taking place, was given the job of managing the four improvement projects.
The firm’s estimated fees for doing so were £336,377.
A parent told the Herald: “This report is jaw-dropping — really damning — there has been a catalogue of mismangement.”
The parents’ group has now fired off letters of complaint to education officials and said it has no faith in the school’s haste to join the new trust.
The highly-regarded selective school must now repay the money — which worried parents who said that could mean painful cuts.
The school has also been served with a formal “Notice to Improve” because of financial management and compliance concerns.
That puts school spending under the close scrutiny of ESFA which must be given first notice before any significant financial transactions.
New headteacher David Marchant started in September, following the retirement of the former head.
The school was asked about resignations and any disciplinary actions but did not address those questions.
New head of governors Martyn Worrall did not provide any comment and, instead, the school issued a round-robin statement, saying it was “saddened” by the report, but accepted its conclusions.
Parents were due to meet with Mr Marchant. They said: “We are desperately worried about what this means for the future of the school. It is still not clear how this money will be repaid and what impact this will have.”
The report found that there was a breach of official financial rules, and school and EU regulations, and that there was a failure to “ensure the regularity and propriety” of public funds.
The report also slammed the role of the school board for voting “to use (unspent funds)” for purposes that they knew were “out of scope”, of the project funding, and “knowingly” agreeing to do so.
The report closes a long-running investigation involving the DfE and ESFA,which gave out the grants, some of which saw the school return surpluses in some cases. Three years ago this month ESFA was tipped-off by an anonymous whistleblower.
The unidentified person reported QEGS in November, 2019, with concerns the school had not returned a £360,000 surplus and spent it on other projects.
The school claimed £2.6 million across four grants from ESFA. The money went on major improvement works during 2016-17 and 2017-18 for windows, boilers and heating systems, the replacement of timber mobile classrooms — but was strictly limited to the projects concerned with the rules clearly stating that any surpluses or underspends should be paid back to the ESFA.
Mr Marchant’s statement said: “We are now committed to working with the ESFA and Department of Education to learn from those conclusions in a way that will allow the school to move forward.
“The board of governors is committed to working to meet the conditions laid out in the ESFA’s Notice to Improve and will work diligently to fulfil these legal obligations as soon as possible.
“Governors will also work to facilitate the smooth transfer of QEGS to the soon to be renamed Changing Lives Learning Trust (currently West Lakes Multi Academy Trust), which is another requirement of the ESFA’s Notice to Improve, at which point the current trust will be wound up.
“While the school will also work with the ESFA to establish a repayment plan as outlined in the Notice to Improve, it is important to stress that we have been assured that this process will not in any way affect the smooth running of the school, or the learning experience of the students.”
Parents said: “We are desperately worried about what this means for the future of the school. It is still not clear how this money will be repaid and what impact this will have.”
