Businessmen in near-complete control of schools educating more than 100,000 pupils, new analysis by Education Uncovered shows

Nearly 200 state-funded schools across England, educating more than 100,000 pupils, are now in the control of wealthy businessmen, new analysis by Education Uncovered reveals today.

Some 189 academies see philanthropists in ultimate charge of how they operate, as a policy introduced under Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair allowing tycoons influence over a small number of schools has expanded rapidly since 2010.

Nine of the 10 trusts running these academies are controlled or heavily influenced by people – all of them men - who have donated or loaned money to political parties, including eight of them to the Conservative Party.

These trusts’ legal constitutions see the controlling sponsors handed sweeping powers to appoint in many cases the vast majority of trustees, who in turn control the organisation through setting its strategy. Parents, pupils and rank-and-file staff members, by contrast, have little or no influence over decision-making. 

The not-for-profit trusts, of course, are organisations which are largely funded by the taxpayer, with core income from the Department for Education of £535 million between them in 2017-18. However, this investigation shows how they are effectively under private control.

Business figures in charge of what are growing empires of schools include:

• Lord Harris of Peckham, the founder of the carpets business Carpetright, whose family are in ultimate charge of 48 state-funded academies through a chain, bearing his name and educating 32,500 pupils, operating in and around London. The chain’s constitution gives Lord Harris the right to appoint up to 32 trustees.
• The Carphone Warehouse co-founder David Ross, reported recently to be a billionaire, who also runs an eponymous chain of schools, in its case with 34 institutions and 13,000 pupils.
• The co-founders of the hedge fund firm Marshall Wace, who, with the former Conservative Party treasurer Lord Fink, form three quarters of the directors of a charity which is in charge of another London-based chain, Ark Schools. This has 38 schools and 26,000 students.
• Lord Laidlaw, a Conservative Party donor who stood down from the House of Lords in 2010 following controversy over being tax-registered in Monaco. He controls a six-school group of academies, educating 4,000 pupils, based in England’s north-East.

Academy trusts, of course, have freedoms including the ability to set their schools’ own curricula and to vary staff pay and conditions.

Analysis of the 10 trusts’ constitutions and accounts by Education Uncovered shows how sponsors are in ultimate charge, through being given powers over the appointment of trustees, who are also known as non-executive directors. In turn, the trustees then set the overall strategy for the trust and hold each school’s management to account. The sponsors also often have control over each trust’s constitution, known as its Articles of Association.

Data analysis then reveals how large each of the trusts has become, and thus the extent to which influence over a relatively small number of pupils in England under the Labour government has become much more significant in recent years.

The 10 trusts whose control structures were scrutinised together educated 113,906 pupils, official government data from January this year show.

The trusts’ constitutions and accounts show how oversight of decision-making is centralised around the sponsors. This will raise questions as to whether it is right for individuals to have so much power over what are state-funded institutions.

Remarkably, one of England’s largest and most successful trusts, the Harris Federation, has it written into its constitution that its “principal sponsor” – or controlling individual – will stay within the family of Lord Harris of Peckham when he dies, passing to his wife or, alternatively, to his two sons.

All of those involved in the sponsorship of the 10 trusts are seemingly wealthy white males. Two of the 10 trusts are controlled by sponsors who have reportedly been based outside of the UK for tax reasons, although one, Lord Ashcroft, reportedly gave this status up in 2010. Six of the 10 trusts are named after their businessman-sponsors, with individual schools run by two of the trusts including the name of the businessman-sponsor as the first word of their titles.

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The academies project has always been in the interests of the few, not the many. It has resulted in a fractured and confusing schools landscape, and a Wild West for those who wish to exploit it. Today’s research shows that the altruism and vocation of teachers is rarely reflected at the top of academy trusts.

 “There is a great deal at stake for education in this General Election. Voters must look at this research and ask themselves in whose interests schools should be run. At a critical time in our history, this is an opportunity for us to change course as a country and vote for education.”

The Department for Education is now limited in what it can say in responding to media enquiries, given that we are now in a pre-election period.

However, the DfE pointed to guidance it provides trust on governance and finance, in the form of its “Governance Handbook” and the “Academies Financial Handbook”. It also said Regional Schools Commissioners “hold reviews with trusts in which governance is considered and discussed”.

I intend to be writing more about the regulation of the sector in the light of the above.

Detail and background on each trust

Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government introduced the concept of business “sponsors” taking over the governance of schools through the City Technology Colleges (CTCs) policy. This saw 15 such institutions established over the period 1988-1993.

New Labour then used the policy as the basis of its own academies programme, which opened its first schools in 2002. This also saw “sponsors” given control of school governing bodies.

Both of these initiatives were relatively small-scale, however, with most of the CTCs becoming academies, but only 203 academies in existence when Labour left office in 2010. Originally, the “sponsors” had to invest money in the schools as a condition of gaining such influence, although that requirement was scrapped under the Labour government, with sponsors now required only to invest their time and expertise.

Under the Conservatives, the policy has expanded exponentially, with now nearly 9,000 academies – or 41 per cent of England’s state-funded schools – in existence.

However, the original architecture of the policy, allowing individuals more-or-less complete control of schools through their governance, remains.

The analysis by Education Uncovered shows how each of nine trusts is now either controlled by or very heavily influenced by wealthy “sponsors”, all of whom are white males and most of whom have donated or loaned money to the Conservative Party, although other parties are also represented.

A tenth trust was founded by the current academies minister, the businessman Lord Agnew. Although he no longer has a position within its governance, the trust’s constitution gives him the right to be an academy member.

Members and trustees

Academy trusts, not-for-profit charities which run the schools, operate under a system with several levels of governance. At its peak sit a small number of trust “members”. These are similar to the owners or shareholders of a company. Under the way the academies policy has been set up, members are in ultimate control of the organisation, as they have the right to set its constitution and to hire and fire trustees, who in turn hold its management to account.

The individual trusts

The analysis shows:

-The Harris Federation, based in Croydon, south London, is in the complete control of the Conservative peer, Lord Harris of Peckham.

Its constitution or “Articles of Association” (AoA) show how Lord Harris, or the “principal sponsor” as he is described in this legal document, has the right to serve both as a member and to nominate two further members himself. The Education Secretary also has the right to appoint a fourth member, but this would give the government only minority control.

There are currently only three members: Lord Harris himself, who is also chair of the trustees, plus two other people, one of whom used to serve as a director of a company - Tapi Carpets and Floors Limited - founded by Lord Harris’s son, Martin, and the other who still serves as a director of Tapi Carpets.

The Harris Federation’s current articles show how it has been agreed that control of the federation will pass to his wife, Lady Pauline, or, alternatively, his two sons upon his death.

The articles state: “In the event of the death of Lord Harris of Peckham, his wife, Lady Harris, shall replace him as Principal Sponsor. If at the relevant time Lady Harris is deceased or unwilling or unable due to physical or mental incapacity to act as Principal Sponsor his son, Martin Harris, shall replace him as Principal Sponsor.

“If at the relevant time Martin Harris is deceased or unwilling or unable due to physical or mental incapacity to act as Principal Sponsor Lord Harris of Peckham’s other son Peter Harris shall replace Lord Harris as the Principal Sponsor.”

This statement includes a proviso, stating that: “None of Martin Harris, Peter Harris or any other person who is not named in this article may become Principal Sponsor without the prior written approval of that person by the Secretary of State, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.”

An identical clause has featured in successive versions of the Harris Federation’s articles since the establishment of the trust back in 2007.

Remarkably, the “principal sponsor” is allowed, under the trust’s current Articles of Association, to appoint up to 32 non-executive directors or trustees. (see separate story on Harris here).

-The David Ross Education Trust, based in Loughborough, Leicestershire, has its board of directors chaired by Ross himself, who is also one of five members listed in its latest accounts. Ross was the co-founder of Carphone Warehouse and was reported to be a billionaire in the Sunday Times Rich List of 2015.

The David Ross Education Trust’s “principal sponsor” is a charity set up by Ross called the David Ross Foundation. This, in turn, is both a member of the trust and has the right to appoint up to four additional members, according to its AoA. Other members will be the chair – currently Ross himself – and a representative of the Peterborough Diocese Church Schools Trust.

In turn, the David Ross Foundation sees Ross himself chairing a six-person board, according to Charity Commission records.

So it seems that Ross is in charge of the charity which itself appoints members to the academy trust which carries his name.

 -The governance at Ark Schools is in the control of its parent company, also called ARK, which is short for Absolute Return for Kids. This was set up by a group of hedge fund financiers in 2002.

The “principal sponsor” of Ark Schools is listed in its articles as ARK. ARK, in turn, has the right to appoint and dismiss all of the directors of Ark Schools.

ARK itself appears currently to be in the control of four people, its directors. These are Ian Wace, the chair of ARK and one of the two founders of the hedge fund Marshall-Wace; Sir Paul Marshall, the other founder of Marshall Wace who also chairs the board of Ark Schools and is a former lead non-executive director at the Department for Education; the Conservative peer Lord Fink; and Anthony Williams, who is a senior partner at Marshall Wace.

Wace reportedly donated to the pro-remain side of the Brexit argument in 2016, while Marshall and Williams donated to the Leave side. Lord Fink is a Conservative party donor, while Marshall has donated both to the Liberal Democrats and to the office of Michael Gove, the former Education Secretary, as Gove was running for the leadership of the Conservative Party, in 2016 and 2019.

This year’s Sunday Times Rich List estimated the wealth of Wace and Marshall at £590 million each.

-The Laidlaw Schools Trust, based in Newcastle upon Tyne and with 4,300 pupils across six schools, is sponsored by Irvine Laidlaw. Lord Laidlaw is a Conservative party donor who sold his conferences business, the Institute of International Research (IIR) for a reported £768m in 2005.

He stood down from the House of Lords in 2010 following controversy over being tax-registered in Monaco. In 2008, he reportedly admitted to being treated for sex addiction.

In 2008, the Daily Telegraph reported how Newcastle council wanted to break the link between a then-proposed academy in Newcastle upon Tyne and Lord Laidlaw, after the “sex addiction” story emerged. However, Excelsior Academy in the city remains sponsored by Laidlaw, and part of his trust.

The trust’s articles list Lord Laidlaw as the principal sponsor, with the right both to serve as a member and to appoint up to two additional members, with any further members then being appointed by either Lord Laidlaw himself or those he has appointed.

The members then get to appoint up to 10 trustees out of a minimum of 13, including two parents.

Lord Laidlaw is described in the latest accounts as the trust’s “founding sponsor” and listed as one of three members there. The board’s chair, Peter Fair, who also serves as a member is listed as the “chair of trustees and sponsor representative”.

-The 23-school Leigh Academies Trust, based in Rochester in Kent, sees its members chaired by the businessman after whom the organisation is named: Sir Geoffrey Leigh.

This chain was spun out of the Leigh City Technology College, named after Sir Geoffrey after what the school’s website describes as his “generous personal sponsorship” while he was chairman and managing director of Allied London Properties PLC.

Leigh Academy Trust’s AoA define Sir Geoffrey as its “principal sponsor,” with the right both to be a member himself and to appoint up to five additional members, which would be a majority. Four other members would be appointed by each of three “co-sponsor” organisations – the universities of Kent and Greenwich, and Kent County Council – and, if necessary, by the Secretary of State for Education.

Sir Edward Leigh is a Conservative Party donor.

-Aldridge Education, which is based in central London but operates nine academies in Blackburn, Brighton, London and Salford, takes its name from Sir Rod Aldridge, the founder and former executive chairman of the outsourcing firm Capita. Aldridge stepped down from the latter position in 2006, after reports that he had made a £1m loan to the Labour party. 

Its latest accounts state that Sir Rod is one of three members, another of which is the “Rodney Aldridge Charitable Trust (trading as The Aldridge Foundation)".

The constitution of Aldridge Education states that its members are to be made up of the Rodney Aldridge Charitable Trust itself, and then up to four people appointed by that trust. Last year, the Rodney Aldridge Charitable Trust was replaced by an organisation called Aldridge Foundation CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation). The Charity Commission’s website lists Aldridge himself as one of 10 trustees, also including his wife, Lady Carol, and Brent Thomas, who chairs the board over at Aldridge Education.

Aldridge is also a trustee at Aldridge Education, and his foundation has control of this level of governance, too, with the members appointing up to nine trustees and the foundation itself allowed also to appoint a further three and also to “appoint Trustees through such process as it may determine”.

-Future Academies, based in Pimlico, central London, was set up by Lord Nash, the Conservative peer and former academies minister (his title was Parliamentary Under Secretary for Schools), and his wife Caroline in 2008.

Lord (John) Nash is a former venture capitalist who co-founded the firm Sovereign Capital in 2001. He has been a donor, with his wife, to the Conservative Party and was a non-executive director of the Department for Education before becoming a minister.

Future Academies’ latest accounts list the four members as Lord and Lady Nash, plus two others, including another financier in Gilbert Chalk, who is also a director at Sovereign Capital Partners LLP and has also been a Conservative Party donor. The fourth member, Derek Sayer, has also been a Conservative Party donor.

Lord Nash is also Future Academies’ chair of trustees, while both Lady Caroline and Chalk are also trustees.

Its seven schools also all have local governing bodies. According to Future Academies’ website, two of these bodies are chaired by Lord Nash, with a third chaired by Lord and Lady Nash jointly. The governing bodies of the remaining four schools are all chaired by Paul Smith, who is the chief executive of Future Academies, and who is therefore accountable to the trust board chaired by Lord Nash.

Under its constitution, the sole member of Future Academies is Future, described on Future Academies’ website as a “John and Caroline Nash’s social enterprise”. Future’s four directors, as listed on its Charity Commission page, are also the four members at Future Academies, including Lord and Lady Nash.

The Nashes’ academy chain now embraces schools in London and Hertfordshire. It is also poised to take over two secondary academies which until now have been sponsored by another academy trust founded by a Conservative Party donor, the Meller Educational Trust.

-Prospect Education (Technology) Trust Ltd is a one-school academy chain running a former City Technology College which was sponsored by the former Conservative Party deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft.

Lord Ashcroft is a Conservative party donor who reportedly gave up his non-domiciled tax status in 2010 in order to stay in the House of Lords.

The City Technology College, called ADT College after an Ashcroft company, was founded in 1992. In 2007, it became an academy.

The academy trust’s latest accounts list Lord Ashcroft as both a member and one of only three trustees.

Lord Ashcroft is listed in the trust’s AoA as being the “sponsor”, and having the right to appoint four members, with one member to be appointed by the Secretary of State for Education, and up to three more to be appointed jointly by Lord Ashcroft and the Secretary of State.

-The Djanogly Learning Trust, which runs seven schools in Nottingham and Derbyshire, is named after the textiles businessman Sir Harry Djanogly. Its first school was originally another of the City Technology Colleges, called Djanogly CTC, in Nottingham. It opened in 1989. Sir Harry’s son, Jonathan Djanogly, is a Conservative MP.

Sir Harry, who is 81, is no longer involved in the academy trust’s governance himself. However, its constitution describes him as its “sponsor”, with the right to serve as a member and to appoint up to seven other members, with two other members to be someone appointed by the Secretary of State for Education; and the board’s chair.

Djanogly also has the right to appoint up to 11 trustees, plus to serve himself as a trustee, the Articles of Association state.

There are no records on the Electoral Commission’s database of any political donations by Sir Harry Djanogly

-Finally, the Norwich-based Inspiration Trust, which has 13 schools, was founded by Lord Agnew, a Conservative peer who founded and sold an insurance business and is the current academies minister.

Lord Agnew and his wife, Lady Clare, were members of the trust from its foundation in 2012 until February 2019. Lord Agnew also chaired the trust until August 2018. The trust’s constitution says members may appoint up to nine directors.

The trust’s current chair, David Tibble, who is also currently a member, is a director of companies on which Lord Agnew has also sat on the board, as is a third current Inspiration Trust member, Justin DeWinter.