Letter of Complaint

Dear Mr Connolly,

RE: Formal Complaint

I am writing in my capacity as a parent of a Y12 student at St Lawrence College, that has been at the school from since Y7. The purpose of my letter is to formally challenge the proposed merger of SLC with Dover College, and in particular its relocation to the Dover College site. This decision, and the manner in which it has been reached, in my view represents a profound failure of governance, a direct breach of the school’s contractual and regulatory obligations to its stakeholders, and a complete and utter lack of transparency.

My parent contract stipulates that the school will “use reasonable endeavours to ensure that parents are consulted and to provide reasons for any significant change” to the school’s provision ” [my emphasis added] . The announcement of the school’s closure, relocation and merger as a fait accompli — without any prior engagement or discussion of alternative options—is a clear breach of this clause. We have been denied the opportunity to understand the necessity of this move or to offer feedback on how it affects our children’s welfare.

Under Charity Commission guidance, Trustees must act exclusively in the best interests of the charity’s beneficiaries—the students. By failing to be transparent or explain this profound decision to stakeholders, you have bypassed the very people the charity exists to serve. In this regard I question whether the Trustees are fulfilling their duties or if the interests of the ‘Repton Family of Schools’ are being prioritised over the welfare and stability of St Lawrence pupils.

The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is clear: schools must communicate effectively with parents. This total failure to engage suggests a complete lapse in leadership, management and indeed empathy afforded to those affected.

Whilst I do not object to the proposed merger, if that is deemed necessary for the viability of both schools, I formally request sight of the school’s “Material Change” application to the Department for Education (DfE) regarding the decision to locate the ‘merged’ school to Dover. I intend to provide my own representations to the DfE regarding the complete disregard of the negative impact this move will have on pupil welfare and educational continuity.

The timing of the announcement is at best poor, and at worse a deliberate and sinical move to reduce options for current SLC students to seek places at other secondary schools within the Thanet area. The current cohort of students in Y11 have now missed the opportunity to apply for secondary school places at State run schools. Many had not even applied, in the ‘knowledge’ that they had a secure place to continue their education at SLC. Together with those students already in the midst of GCSE and A-level curriculum cycles, this effectively forces the hand of students in years 10, 11, 12 to relocate to Dover – or face the significant distress of starting over or half way through their courses at other schools, which may not offer the same syllabus or standard of teaching.

To enable scrutiny of the claims that “due diligence” has been followed please provide me with the following information.

• A copy of the “Merger Fact Sheet” that has been reported, which allegedly explains the financial model and the purported business case.
• A school and communities ‘Impact Assessment’ regarding the loss of Ramsgate’s specialist facilities that are not only used by the school, but also by many local groups and charities in the Thanet area.
• The minutes of all meetings where the merger and relocation of the school was discussed, together with any associated reports, documents and communications.
• A clear timeline of all relevant meetings and key decisions.
• Evidence of the Options Analysis (or cost-benefit analysis) conducted prior to selecting Dover as the preferred relocation site. As Trustees you have a duty to consider all reasonable pathways to secure the charity’s future. Please confirm which other models were considered (e.g., maintaining the Ramsgate site, partial/phased merger, or alternative partnerships) and the specific criteria used to dismiss them in favour of a move that abandons SLC’s superior infrastructure – I return to this below.
• A programme of the works required to re-invest any capital receipt, from the disposal of the Ramsgate site, into the Dover site – to determine how long it would take to provide facilities of a comparable status to SLC.

SLC currently offers facilities and academic outcomes that consistently exceed those at the Dover site. I demand a detailed explanation of how the loss of these facilities has been justified and how the school intends to mitigate their loss:

• The Sports Excellence Centre: The world-class hockey and athletic facilities at Ramsgate have no equivalent at the Dover site.
• The Art & Science Building: This is a high-quality teaching facility and a key asset of SLC that will be lost. How has this been considered, and will equivalent facilities be replaced/replicated at the Dover site?
• Academic Performance: SLC consistently outperforms Dover College in ISI assessments, specifically regarding GCSE/A-Level value-added and EAL support. Relocating to a site with historically lower academic benchmarks is a regression in the quality of education we have contracted for.
• Site Capacity: The Ramsgate campus offers superior size and infrastructure is a better condition compared to the constrained Dover College grounds. For Dover College, the sports facilities are not only inferior, but they are also spread out well beyond the main campus – in stark contrast with SLC.
• How has it been determined that relocating the larger school community to the smaller site is less impactful that it would be if Dover College relocated to Ramsgate?

In terms of the intended disposal of the Ramsgate site and all of its ‘charitable’ assets, has an agreement or option been entered into with a prospective developer of the Ramsgate Site; and on the understanding that any capital receipt from the sale of the Ramsgate site would be reinvested into the Dover College site, how long will it be before the Dover facilities are brought up to the standard of SLC. The inherent time taken to secure funding, to obtain planning and listed building consent for the development of any new facilities on the highly constrained Dover site, not to mention the construction time will take the benefit of any new facilities at Dover far beyond the term of existing students. Why, and on what basis, has the decision been not to utilise the superior [and existing!] facilities of SLC , which could give a direct, immediate and tangible benefit to the students of Dover College if they were to relocate to the SLC site.

Furthermore, I request the relevant documentation that details how the Board has factored in pupil and staff welfare within this transition. Specifically:

• How will the significant increase in travel time and the loss of a familiar environment be mitigated for vulnerable pupils or those already committed to an examination cycle?
• What assessment has been made regarding the retention of high-performing SLC staff who may be unable or unwilling to relocate, and how will their potential loss impact the quality of teaching?
• How does the Board justify the wellbeing implications of moving students from a site with “Excellent” rated pastoral and academic outcomes to a site with facilities that are clearly of a lesser standard.
• What evaluation has been given to the social and economic impact from the loss of a significant employment business (teaching and all support staff) within Thanet vis a vis the loss or relocation of a smaller pool of employees from Dover?

SLC and Dover College do not utilise the same exam boards or specifications across several core and elective subjects. These specifications are not interchangeable; they involve different modules, coursework requirements, and examination styles. For pupils currently in Years 10, 11, and 12, a mid-course change in exam boards is academically reckless and risks significantly depressing their final grades. In addition to the above requested documented evidence, I therefore request sight of:

• A comprehensive Curriculum Mapping Report detailing every subject where exam boards differ between the two schools [A-Level & GCSE]; together with a clear Mitigation Strategy for every pupil in an examination cohort. Will SLC pupils be forced to switch to the Dover specifications, or will the merged school run dual-board classes—and if so, how will this be staffed given the likely rationalisation of teaching roles?

SLC currently offers a range of [A-Level/GCSE] subjects and extracurricular academic programmes that are not supported by the current facilities or staffing levels at Dover College. Will there be a guarantee that no pupil currently enrolled at SLC (or indeed Dover College) will see their subject choices reduced or their teaching hours diminished as a result of this relocation.

On a personal note, my daughter currently enjoys an ‘all round’ scholarship (academic, art and sports) – can you guarantee that this would be maintained under the planned merger.

I could go on, but your response to the above will enable me to at least evaluate and understand for myself the reasoning behind the recent announcement. Failure to provide these documents suggests that “due diligence” has not been followed. There seems to be no logic to the proposed relocation other than for financial gain, ignoring the charitable objective of providing for and enhancing the education and welfare of the beneficiaries – the children.

I intend to escalate this matter to theCharity Commission, theISI, and theDepartment for Education should a meaningful response to the above not be provided, and a true and meaningful consultation process not be initiated immediately.

In the interim, I formally request an in-person meeting with Mr Brown, as current head of SLC, and yourself as Bursar and Clerk to the Governors, as soon as possible.

I keenly await your response. Yours sincerely,

Nicola

CC:

Mr M Brown, Head of School, St Lawrence College The Chair of Governors, St Lawrence College