BELEAGUERED staff at Ashburton’s ailing South Dartmoor College and its family of surrounding academy schools have escaped the worst of feared jobs cuts with just five teachers opting for voluntary redundancy together with a clutch of support staff.
The biggest casualty has been the departure of the Balland Lane college’s principal Paul Collins, who has stepped down for ‘health reasons.’
It’s been a torrid last few months for the trust – which includes schools in Buckfastleigh, Ilsington, Moretonhampstead and Widecombe – after more than 70 jobs were reckoned to be under threat.
The balancing-the-books mess stemmed from unfair regional government funding and a fight against dwindling pupil numbers across the trust area.
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