From the Kidderminster Shuttle: The paper reports on an FOI that reveals a land deal between the DfE and a private school proposing to set up a free school on its grounds. A Lib Dem councillor believes the land deal with the DfE will pay off a £1.3m loan owed by the private school.
The existing private school is part of International Education Systems (IES) -- (not the same as IES (Internationella Engelska Skolan), of course! -- The private school owes the £1.3m to the wider IES group. However once the DfE has paid for the land the buildings will then continue to be used by the private school but in its free school project.
The paper said: 'Lead opposition education spokeswoman on Worcestershire County Council, Liberal councillor Fran Oborski, said cash from the sale could be used to pay off a £1.3 million loan from IES and buildings handed back to Holy Trinity for it to continue to be used as a school, questioning whether the move “really” represented value for money.'
The paper said: 'Financial accounts submitted by Holy Trinity trustees to the Charity Commission for years ending August 31, 2011 and 2012 respectively, showed between the two years the school consolidated debts due within two years to several other IES-owned schools across the world into the £1.3 million IES loan, which can be paid back after five years.'
But headteacher Pamela Leek-Wright told the paper it would “add a major new physical asset to the maintained school system in Kidderminster, at considerably less cost than many other recent free schools”.
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