Anger at King’s School over plans to fly headmaster to prestigious British regatta | lucy_carroll JordsBaker
An old boys’ representative on The King’s School board has quit over plans to fly the headmaster, his deputy and their wives first class to the world’s most prestigious rowing event, the Henley Royal Regatta, to rub shoulders with the heads of Britain’s top schools.
However, some members of council were concerned that the expenses had not been put before the whole council for approval, the sources said. Thehas confirmed that one council member, a representative of the old boys on council, resigned over the issue. “The optics are terrible,” said another source close to the school. “The thing most people are upset about is it feels like on a whim the school can just snap their fingers and tickets are paid for.”The sources said the furore led the headmaster, Tony George, and his wife to downgrade their tickets to business class, and the deputy to pay for the trip out of his own pocket. The school did not respond to questions on that issue.
“As a school of global standing, international relationships are essential to sustaining and developing key initiatives.” The regatta was also an opportunity to “further our philanthropic activities” by engaging with expatriate old boys, the statement said.