The curious case of Durand boarding school

The Durand boarding school project is a wonderfully ambitious attempt to give children from one of the most deprived parts of London the kind of education that has traditionally only be available to a privileged few. But earlier this week, the National Audit Office criticised the Department for Education for handing over money for the project without sufficiently assessing the risks. Margaret Hodge, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, followed up with a letter to the parish council questioning the financial sense of the project.

However, as a letter from the school’s head Sir Greg Martin reveals, Hodge had not spoken to Durand before writing the letter. Hodge’s office stresses that she was responding to the NAO’s report, in the way that chairs of the PAC traditionally do. But they do concede that they are surprised that the NAO didn’t speak to Durand before submitting its report.

The NAO admit that they didn’t contact Durand before making these criticisms.