St John's School: Head thanks parents who rally round cash-strapped Sidmouth school

The head of a Sidmouth school which faces the possibility of closure according to the CEO of its parent company says parents of pupils have rallied round in a show of support as it deals with the consequences of Coronavirus.

And supporters of the school have set up a crowdfunding page with the target of raising £25,000 to help the school through the crisis.

Yesterday (Saturday, 20 June) Sidmouth Nub News broke the story that Dr Jorge Segovia, President of International Education Systems (IES) which owns the school, had written to staff asking them to take a 23.5% cut or face the possibility of closure.

The news was greeted with dismay and concern by parents and in its wake, the school's headteacher, Graham Hurrell has written to parents saying the letter from Dr Segovia had been 'taken out of context'.

He has not denied its content though and says the school has to 'belt tighten', while school staff have been 'open to the idea' of the pay cut. He also says the school is looking at new ways of generating revenue and he is optimistic that the school will come through the crisis.

Dr Segovia wrote to staff at Sidmouth to say it was "with great regret" that he had to give them an ultimatum.

He said: "St John's has been in a difficult financial position for many years. This has resulted in accumulated losses of over eight million pounds to date.

"Despite this, IES has continued supporting the school by covering these losses with confidence that this is a great school with so much to offer and an excellent team that will take it to success."

And despite Mr Hurrell's statement to parents that the article was out of context, he does not refute the blunt statement from Dr Segovia which said about the pay cut idea: "If we don't have the support of all staff members, we will not be able to continue operating St John's further."

Mr Hurell's message says: "As you will probably heard or read, a leaked internal memo appeared in the local press taken totally out of context stating that we would close if staff did not take a massive pay cut'.

"I imagine that all families along with St John's staff, have been greatly concerned by the potential damage that this headline could cause, and it has undoubtedly led to even greater uncertainty in these difficult times.

"May I firstly thank you for the letters of support I have received from the parent and staff body, which have been greatly appreciated, and secondly explain the background to this press release.

"Obviously, as we have informed you previously, Covid 19 has affected the entire IES community and its knock on effect at St John's has been a need to close the boarding house and to reduce costs where feasible, but without affecting the educational quality that we pride ourselves on.

"We have tried hard to navigate the current crisis which affects all of us, and hard financial decisions have had to be made.

"The idea has always been to 'belt tighten' in the short term, so that we can reopen boarding when demand allows, return to normality and even expand numbers for the future.

"One proposal out of many to be discussed was a pay cut for one year, and honestly staff were open to this idea (as well as alternative revenue saving schemes) as we love this school, want to keep it successful and we understand that many families have themselves suffered worse pay cuts, loss of income and an uncertain future.

"We are also currently looking at post Covid alternative revenue streams and know that we can work with, and use the multiple skills of our community, to achieve this end.

"Families go through difficult moments, but the St John's family is determined to rally together, use the VE day spirit that we celebrated a couple of weeks ago, and make this work, short term and long.

"We will continue to communicate with honesty and integrity, work with and for you, and we are optimistic that St John's will continue to offer its renowned education and be the second home for so many families."

The Just Giving page in support of the school was set up by Raymond Ollier, who started the donations with a personal gift of £100 and he has pledged to give more.

It says "Please support this amazing School and to try and secure its future for Sidmouth and international students."

The page has already received support from parents, with one, saying "This was the school who has been a beginning to many an old pupil. I for one being the mother of two who went to St John's feel this is a small and wonderful start to a life of learning in its best way."