Tiffin boys’ school in crisis as £800,000 reserves disappear

A top grammar school has been plunged into financial crisis after running £350,000 over budget in a year.

Tiffin boys' school in Kingston is asking parents for up to £1,200 in donations, while staff are facing redundancy.

Kingston council has launched an investigation into how the school managed to use all its £800,000 reserves in four years without realising.

It is a blow for one of the most sought-after schools in the country and its outgoing head, Sean Heslop. He has been recruited to run one of the Government's flagship academies in Kent on a salary thought to be well over £100,000 a year.
But, along with the board of governors, he now faces questions over his handling of Tiffin's finances. In a letter to parents, Tiffin's chair of governors, Stuart Lester, detailed the "challenging financial situation" the school faces.

"We have very low reserves, having steadily reduced them to subsidise improvements and organisational changes of the past four years," he said.

"The governors and senior staff have been working closely with the local authority to put a sustainable budget plan in place and I am confident that the situation will be resolved without detriment to the boys' education.

Nevertheless, we will need to make some reductions in our overall staff and other running costs." Tiffin is a voluntary-aided state school, which means parents are asked to contribute financially to its education fund in order to boost its income.

The school suggests parental donations ranging from £300 to £1,200 per year.

Mr Lester said the standard contribution which the school asked for was £520 per year. "We recognise that not everyone can afford to contribute, especially in the current financial climate," he told parents.

"If you are able to pay some or all of the £10 a week (£520 per year) contribution, and are not doing so already, now is a time when the school would particularly appreciate your support. If you can donate more, that would be very helpful."

He told the Standard he expected the school to need a loan of £50,000 from Kingston council to cover its debts. Between five and 10 staff are likely to go, some through redundancies, in the next 12 months.

Mr Lester said the scale of the problems only became clear on 7 January. The school's finance department has undergone changes in staff in recent months, leading to difficulties keeping track of spending.

The 1,000-pupil grammar regularly appears near the top of league tables for the best state secondaries in England.

Last year, 100 per cent of boys achieved the Government's target of five A*-C grades at GCSE, with the vast majority scoring a string of As and A*s.

Headteacher Mr Heslop is to take charge of Folkestone Academy in the summer. His move was announced well before the funding difficulties emerged and there is no suggestion his departure is linked to them.

Pauline Cox, head of neighbouring Tiffin girls' school, will take over after Easter on an interim basis.