Chief executive of now-closing academy trust combined the role with heading a local authority school nearly 200 miles away

A lot of time on the train? James Royal has been responsible for schools spread across England

A now-closing multi-academy trust paid £110,000 for the services of a chief executive who combined the job with running a local authority primary school nearly 200 miles away.

Since 2017, Chapel Street Community Schools Trust has had, as its chief executive, James Royal, whose arrangements at the trust for 2017-18 are set out in its accounts for that year.

Under “related party transactions”, Chapel Street discloses that, in that year, it was charged £60,000 for the services of Royal as chief executive by Blackrod Anglican Methodist Primary School, where the accounts state Royal was at that time the headteacher.

Chapel Street also paid £51,000 to a company called JR Education Leadership Consultancy Limited, where Royal is a director. That would appear to indicate a £111,000 total bill paid by Chapel Street for Royal’s services.