A Huntingdon principal has shared the “significant concerns” he has with the leadership of his school’s trust in a letter to parents announcing his resignation.  

Mark Patterson has informed parents he will leave Hinchingbrooke School “with a heavy heart” at the end of the academic year.  

And in the same letter, he outlines his concerns about how the ACES Academies Trust operates, its leadership and the amount it “top-slices” from the school’s budget. 

Mr Patterson claims the amount is around three quarters of a million pounds each year from Hinchingbrooke School.  

After raising his points with the ACES Trust Board, he added “the trustees have said they do not share my concerns and they are not prepared to act on any of them”.  

In the letter sent last night (Wednesday), Mr Patterson said: “My concerns are shared in the other schools in the ACES trust: last summer all of the ACES headteachers co-wrote a statement to the ACES Trust Board and the chief executive outlining our concerns and we made a number of proposals for change – very little has changed as a result.  

“My decision to leave has not been made hastily - I have been working behind the scenes for years to change things; unfortunately, from my point of view, that work has not yielded a positive result, and that is why I have now decided, reluctantly, to leave.  

“I wish things were different; if they were, I would be staying, and gladly.” 

The Hunts Post: Mark Patterson, the outgoing principal of Hinchingbrooke School, in Huntingdon.Mark Patterson, the outgoing principal of Hinchingbrooke School, in Huntingdon. (Image: Newsquest)Mark Burns, from the NASUWT teaching union in Cambridgeshire, explained the "practice of top slicing is across all multi-academy trusts (MATs) to a greater or lesser extent". 

He said: "Some MATS provide high levels of services to their schools in return for this but they are in the minority.  

"All too often MATs hide behind GDPR and the defence of commercial sensitivity to create a fog of opacity around their finances, even when [freedom of information requests] are carried out."  

He added: "This is wrong, this is public money, our taxes, that should be spent on our young people but so much is being creamed off to be spent on sky high salaries for CEOs and the appointment of other managers whose only role is to monitor staff and justify their position.  

"Class sizes increase, staff turnover increases and replacement qualified teachers cannot be found.

"The children and staff suffer when the CEO and a deputy of one of the MATs in my patch can physically go on recruitment trips to Canada, New Zealand and Australia."

The Hunts Post: Mark Burns, the NASUWT National Executive who represents the union’s members in Cambridgeshire.Mark Burns, the NASUWT National Executive who represents the union’s members in Cambridgeshire. (Image: NASUWT)Mr Patterson's letter did also touch on more positive points such as the school’s last Ofsted where it was rated ‘Good’ in all areas and last summer’s “best ever outcomes” for Year 11s and Year 13s.  

He said Hinchingbrooke School has more first-preference applications for places in Year 7 for September 2024 than any other school in the county.  

Mr Patterson added: ”...we have great students who are very well supported by committed parents and carers, and we have a dedicated and caring staff team who are willing to go the extra mile every day for our students.  

“We are in a very good place as a school and hopefully, a new school principal will be able to help Hinchingbrooke School on its journey from ‘Good’ to ‘Great’."

Mr Patterson has previously been the head of St Ivo Academy, in St Ives, but left suddenly in November 2014. 

He then went to Parkside Federation Academies, in Cambridge, before joining Hinchingbrooke School in January 2020. 

The ACES Academies Trust also runs four primary schools: Cromwell Academy in Huntingdon, Godmanchester Bridge Academy, Godmanchester Community Academy and Spaldwick Primary School.  

The Trust has been approached for comment.