A group of parents is calling on a top education boss to step in and stop Queen Elizabeth Grammar School joining a new academy trust.
From January, the acclaimed selective grammar school in Penrith will become a high profile addition to the West Lakes Multi Academy Trust based in Egremont, whose members include small primaries in West Cumbria.
The link-up was first floated with QEGS parents at the end of April and in the last fortnight has moved closer after regional education bosses gave it the green light “in principle”.
But the parents group —numbering around 30 — opposes the “irreversible” decision — despite it winning effusive praise from new headteacher David Marchant; new head of governors Martyn Worral, and trust execs.
The parents have written to Vicky Beer, a north west regional director for the Department for Education, outlining seven pages of background and calling on her to step in.
At the centre of the concerns is a £1.5 million “repayment liability” on QEGS’ books.
Still owed to the Education, Skills and Funding Agency, a wing of the Department for Education, it relates to grants the school claimed for major improvements works at the Ullswater Road site, dating into the last decade.
A subsequent investigation by the ESFA found some of the works were eligible and others not, leading to the school being asked to repay sums and a dispute about them. There is no suggestion of any criminal or financial wrongdoing.
Yet parents suspect the hefty liability is driving the “hasty” decision to partner up with the trust, whose deep-pocketed sponsors include Sellafield Ltd, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, and the University of Central Lancashire.
Previously, the school has clarified that it has the money to cover its liabilities.
The letter from parents to Ms Beer says: “We believe that this process should be stopped until there is full transparency about the £1.5 million liability.
“Once that is provided, consideration of the various options to QEGS should start, properly.”
They stated consultation with parents should not have taken place until the whole picture was clear.
The parents also believe that a consultation about joining the trust was incomplete and effectively amounted to a sales pitch to get parents on side.
Some called it a “sham” while some governors have come under fire amid claims they have not answered “legitimate” questions. A parent said: “The consultation felt like lip service.”
The school responded: “We are satisfied that due process has been undertaken at all stages.
“We can confirm that discussions with the ESFA are ongoing. We strongly believe that joining West Lakes Multi-Academy Trust is in the best interests of the school.
“The traditional principles and values of Queen Elizabeth Grammar School — as a highly academic, selective school centred around the local community of Penrith and our wider catchment — will continue.”
