Exclusive
The Charity Commission has opened a regulatory compliance case to assess financial and governance concerns raised over the management of St Lawrence College in Ramsgate which fell into administration in April.
Documents filed with the commission by the Save St Lawrence campaign group raise concerns about how finances were managed and the decision-making in the period leading up to the administration.
These include questions around financial controls, transparency, and whether appropriate fiduciary duties were exercised.
St Lawrence College went into administration with notice filed with the courts on April 8.
The college shut with immediate effect apart from for students in Years 11 and 13 who will stay until exams are completed. The college has some 500 students.
Sadly 166 employees were made redundant, with 44 kept on to support exam-year students.
School governors said the college had faced “sustained and significant financial pressure over a number of years. Declining pupil numbers, the introduction of VAT on school fees, rising operating costs and broader economic uncertainty.”
Lead up to administration
The administration came on the heels of a tumultuous few weeks for staff, students and their families.
In February it emerged that St Lawrence College planned to shut its Ramsgate site in July and move to Dover College from September as part of a merger under the umbrella of the Repton Family of Schools.
The news provoked a huge backlash with protests from students, families and community groups that use the college facilities. A fight fund to pay for a legal challenge and a petition were also raised.
In March Governors of the college announced a halt to merger plans with a view to reconsidering options for the independent school.
A letter to parents said the college was “actively pursuing” a way forward with meetings taking place to secure “a long-term” future for the college.
A further letter that month said St Lawrence College had signed a formal agreement for a new partnership, adding: “While further legal work is still required before a final agreement is completed, this step represents a clear and positive commitment to working together to safeguard the future and longevity of St Lawrence College.”
The partner was not named in the letter but the complaint to the Charity Commission from Save St Lawrence College group says it was believed to have been CATS [Cambridge Arts, Technology and Science] – a global network of independent boarding schools, an Arts School, English language schools and runs a variety of summer educational programmes.
Just three weeks later the St Lawrence governors announced that the college had gone into administration.
Finances
Financial issues had been running over several years. In June 2025 staff were informed of proposals to make 20+ redundancies at the school. According to Charity Commission filings (up to August 2024) the college deficit for the year ended 31st August 2024 was £1,327,353 (2023: deficit of £1,294,213). The deficit includes non-cash depreciation charges of £984,358 (2023: (2023: £975,687).
‘Frantic decision making’
The campaign group letter to the commission says: “This frantic decision-making, lurching from one extreme position to another, implies that the charity’s assets were not, in the months/years prior to this, managed with the required level of prudence, leading to an immediate closure that appears to have been avoidable had a competent, long-term financial strategy been in place.”
Other points in the letter relate to capital expenditure at a time of financial uncertainty, conflicts of interest, a lack of proper consultation and a question over whether the obligation to file a Serious Incident Report (SIR) was fulfilled.
The Charity Commission says an SIR was filed.
The Save SLC campaign group adds: “The immediate closure of the school and the mass redundancy of over 150 members of staff have caused irreversible harm to the education and well-being of its beneficiaries, the very outcome the Board was legally bound to prevent.”
‘Assessment’
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We have opened a regulatory compliance case to assess financial and governance concerns raised with us about The Corporation of St Lawrence College. Our assessment will determine any next steps.”
The opening of a compliance case is not an indication of wrongdoing and findings have not yet been made.
The Charity Commission does not prosecute, although it may ask others to prosecute offences. It does have powers to freeze bank accounts, appoint interim managers to a charity or disqualify trustees.
The Save SLC group has also written to request an investigation by administrators FRP Advisory and it is understood a complaint has been filed with Kent Police.
So reading the article, whilst the school made two consecutive year losses of over £1million, the vast majority of the losses in both years was depreciation which is a book entry. The actual physical loss in each year was about the value of a 2 bedroom house locally and the site had at least 2 x two bedroom former masters houses sitting empty which could have been sold at auction. The debt was probably secured on the building assets including those empty properties, so why did the lender pull the plug instead of managing the sale of some assets and keeping the school running?
Agreed.
Clearly something of a misrepresentation.
Whilst there may have been some element of ”trading loss” the overall situation has been exaggerated by the use of deliberate accounting manipulation.
It appears that somebody has engineered the situation to fit a desired outcome.
Suspicious to say the least, there was always an ulterior reason behind this. Firstly the move to Dover which was rejected, and then the “losses”. The land,facilities and property are worth a tidy sum to the eventual (when it filters down) owners.
As a charity, the leftovers (which will be quite significant) will all have to be donated to charities.
So those who previously turned a blind eye to way things were run , decide to grind their axe when things go wrong.
Not going to change anything. I’m sure many would rather know what went on when the Deaf school went down the pan.
It’s not axe grinding, it’s accountability. I hope the charity commission are very thorough in their investigation. It is difficult to describe the SLC corporate culture to anyone outside the institution. If there is evidence of wrong doing, people should be held to account.
Surely would have been better to have reported the cultire when it was first noticed , might then have possibly put the place on the straight and narrow and survived , well at least a bit longer.
The “culture” is ingrained in this type of school they honestly still believe they should be exempt from tax when normal schools are not. They believe they can do what they like, it’s a keeping up with the Jones mentality when many of the parents stretch themselves just to believe they a giving “little Toby” a better start in life. Some people made a very nice little earner for years and a couple of less rewarding years and the rug is pulled away.
Greed has infected every walk of life and the party leading the change (or reform if you will) want to double down on greed and have sold the nation on a “former bankers” patter. He wants embrace more privatisation, more trickle down and people are lapping it up lol
It’s tragic
Charity commission investigation ,just like the one to the deaf school having a laugh nothing was heard
It’s like an old pals club!
The charity commission are very good at these sorts of investigations and won’t leave any stone unturned. As the charity hasn’t been wound up yet this will prevent assets being disposed of inappropriately (i.e. any shady deals with friends/ property developers) as any actions will now be scrutinised as to whether they are in the best interests of the charity. The other benefit is that any wrongdoing that is uncovered will prevent members of the board of trustees, who were legally responsible, from being members of other boards in future. This is really good news as nowhere to hide now and the families, creditors and wider community will get answers about who made what decisions.
Agreed
You mean the sort of people that run and make money from these private schools engage in creative accounting and have started to close now they might face scrutiny of paying some tax finally….
NEVER!
I’m shooketh
Clearly skullduggery was involved and depreciation isn’t real loss and wouldn’t send a company into insolvency.
Utter disgraceful behaviour
There are serious concerns surrounding the conduct and financial management of the school under the financial leadership of the Bursar. Allegations have been raised regarding the awarding of contracts to associates, significant overspending on school building projects during a period of sustained financial deficit, and the use of school funds in pursuing staff tribunals that some believe were motivated by personal grievances rather than institutional necessity. Questions have also been raised about executive remuneration, including reports of substantial salary increases at a time when the school faced mounting financial difficulties, alongside concerns over transparency relating to pay policies, pension contributions, staff health insurance payments, and outstanding bills. Critics further allege that governors were misled during discussions surrounding the proposed merger, with some claiming that poor financial governance and mismanagement contributed to its collapse and, ultimately, the loss of numerous jobs. It is understood that both the Charity Commission and Kent Police are examining aspects of the school’s financial affairs, although no findings have yet been formally established
Could almost be thought you were referring to TDC, a pity they have’nt /don’t come under the same scrutiny
Thats the problem with taking these people from the armed forces who don’t have commercial management experience.
Often promoted up for failure they can mismanage but tax payers are there to bale them out.
They then leave and go to real world that overconfidence and lack of realworld experience is a dangerous combination.
Once a robust ,careful, modest but good school which spent within its means.However it has grown financially unsustainable with new buildings and sports facilities in the past 16 years.
However there was no financial safety net for this high risk strategy as there is in the forces.
There’s no taxpayer’s cash to bale it out sadly and many a child’s education has been badly damaged as a result and a fine institution lost for the town.
Nevermind I’m sure there’s a lovely pension to come. More reward for failure.
Transparency relating to pay scales? After several years of no pay increase I asked to see the pay scales for staff. I was eventually told that I wasn’t allowed to see them but not to worry because they definitely did exist 😂
Does a Head Groundsman need to live on site in a free house? Of course, he was a golf buddy!
There were rumours of an affair…
Engineers shouldn’t be in charge of schools finances.
Especialy those with huge eggsos and little ability.