Job cuts 'a slap in the face' as bosses' pay rises

SCHOOL CUTTING JOBS OVER DEFICIT - AS CEO'S PAY SOARS

- WILLIAM TELFORD

STAFF at a Plymouth school fear job cuts as it and the trust it belongs to battle a financial black hole. Workers at Plymouth High School for Girls (PHSG) are understood to have been told they can apply for voluntary redundancy as the school and trust both fell into financial losses.

New accounts filed by the Thinking Schools Academy Trust - which contains PHSG and Plympton Academy among 24 schools-show it reported an operating loss of £2.206m in 2024, after making a £1.36m surplus the year before. Seven of the schools, including PHSG, were listed as carrying net deficits.

The trust's financial statement said PHSG had a deficit of £317,000 in 2024, which left it with a net deficit of £149,000 on revenue funds. It blamed "cost pressures, arising in part from sizable cost of living increases".

A staff member has told The Herald that workers at PHSG were summoned to a meeting before half-term and told a window was open for them to apply for redundancy. The staff member, who has asked not to be named, said it was explained at the meeting that the deficit was expected to grow to £238,000 in 2025 and that if action was not taken now it could hit £477,000 by 2026.