Teachers have written another letter to the Board of Governors expressing their concern over the school’s management
Staff at a top grammar school in Northern Ireland have written another letter to its board of governors demanding answers regarding management issues saying they have “systemic concerns” amid a “lack of transparency”.
The staff at Assumption Grammar School, Ballynahinch, wrote a letter to the Board of Governors this week where they said that there are “long-standing concerns” regarding “the persistent lack of transparency and accountability” and the way these have been addressed have caused serious reputational damage and embarrassment.
It comes after a Freedom of Information request revealed that a payment for a safari trip that was highlighted during an Education Authority audit, was only made in September 2025, months after the EA investigation had been completed. In the letter staff have said they were assured throughout the summer period that this issue had been resolved but it has now been revealed it was not made until an FOI request regarding it was made in September. This has led to concerns the school misled the EA investigation.
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In the letter to the board, staff said: “Being asked to accept “oversight”, “administrative errors”, or “misunderstandings” is no longer credible.
“Repeatedly paying money back after one has been caught out does not constitute transparency; it constitutes damage control.”
It continued: “Staff have carried the weight of these unanswered questions for far too long. We are expected to maintain professionalism, protect the reputation of the school, and support our students daily—yet we are repeatedly left in a position where misleading information, incomplete narratives, or avoidable scandals emerge in the press while we are kept in the dark.
“We can no longer tolerate evasive responses.
“It is unacceptable that key details come to us through the press rather than from those in positions of responsibility.
“We object to having our legitimate concerns minimised, particularly when later documentation shows they were entirely justified.”
The letter comes following a previous one written by staff in June that called on the board and school leadership to provide more transparency with regards to the EA audit.
Staff have reiterated previous concerns saying they want a; “restoration of trust through honest acknowledgment of mistakes, a full and independent review of governance decisions, transparent communication from the Board and leadership and support for staff wellbeing, which has been severely affected by these ongoing failures.”
It has said if previous concerns were addressed earlier, “much of the present reputational damage could have been avoided.”
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Staff have also raised concerns that parents of children at the school have been issued legal threats from the board for asking questions.
The letter continued: “The scale of public concern surrounding these issues is unprecedented. In the past eleven months alone, there have been 18 separate media features highlighting governance failures at Assumption Grammar School.
“A parents’ group formed specifically to support staff now has over 180 members, demonstrating the depth of alarm felt within the wider school community. Parents have been forced to lodge multiple FOI requests simply to access information that should have been provided openly and some have even received legal threats from the Board of Governors for asking entirely legitimate questions.
“It is extraordinary, and deeply troubling, that staff, parents, legislators, and elected representatives have all been ignored, dismissed, or gaslit when raising genuine concerns. No well-run school, and no credible governing body, behaves in such a manner.”
Four unions representing staff at Assumption Grammar School requested an Audit of Industrial Relations at the school on November 17, with the letter saying this shows that concerns among staff are “systemic” and need to be dealt with urgently.
Staff have also said they would like to see a reconstituted board of governors at the school who will be open and transparent with staff and willing to meet with them.
They said: ” Once the Board is reconstituted, we expect, as a matter or urgency, that the newly formed Board will meet directly with the whole staff to address the unresolved issues that have been allowed to continue for the past five years. It is of the utmost importance that a reconstituted Board does not continue the pattern of dismissing staff, failing to engage with us, or disregarding the concerns we have consistently raised. Instead, we expect the Board to engage openly with staff, confront the realities we have lived through, and take decisive steps to restore trust, transparency, and stability within our school community.”
A statement from Assumption Grammar School said: “We can confirm that we have received a letter from members of staff highlighting a number of concerns which we understand has also been circulated to some media.
“We take these concerns very seriously and are fully committed to transparency and accountability. The Board of Governors will respond to the letter next week.”
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