‘Socialist Eton’ splashes £15k on posh paint
... and £6,000 on designer candles!
A STATE school known as the ‘socialist Eton’ is living up to good old Left-wing principles.
In this case, having spent £15,000 on luxury Farrow & Ball paint, it seems Holland Park School is showing that nothing is too good for the workers – and, d, indeed, the pupils.
Now it faces a Government t investigation after it splashed d out on the £62-a-pot brand d while the national education n budget is being squeezed.
The west London school also so blew £6,000 over three years on designer Jo Malone candles, s, which cost up to £47 each, to create a ‘relaxing and inspiring ng environment’. Holland Park rk won its nickname by being the he choice of rich socialists who avoid sending their childen to private school because of their principles.
The lavish spending by Holland Park – which educated Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee and Tony Benn’s daughter Melissa – was revealed by trade newspaper Schools Week following a Freedom of Information request.
academies minister Lord agnew yesterday said: ‘The public will rightly ask how this benefits pupils. We will look into this.
‘We take the financial accountability of all schools very seriously and the department will take action when necessary.’ The school claimed that deluxe Farrow & Ball paint – favoured by former prime minister David Cameron – was ‘ high quality and hard-wearing’ and ‘safe for children and the environment’.
But Matthew ClementsWheeler, chairman of the Institute of School Business Leaderincluded ship, said the spending ‘looked luxurious’ and did not ‘add to educational outcomes’.
a 2.5-litre tin of Farrow & Ball costs up to £62 on the B&Q website, while the same size of Dulux emulsion costs £20.
The school’s spending p also £80,268 on furnishings from Insider Dealings, a bespoke interior design store.
a school spokesman said: ‘We appreciate that school funding levels mean the same choices are not open to all governmentfunded schools, but we provide the best education and environment for our students within our own budgetary restraints.
‘Through shrewd budgetary management, the school is able to report annually a healthy financial position.’
The school argued that Jo Malone candles also lasted ‘ much longer than many cheaper brands’.
Holland Park is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
‘High quality and hard-wearing’