More than 100 students walk out of sixth form college in protest after 20 teachers quit and OBE-winning head was ‘forced’ to retire early

• Boys from St Aloysius College in Highgate have taken to the streets in protest 
• Tom Mannion OBE, 74, forced to retire early when arrested on suspicion of fraud 
• His leaving prompted a mass exodus of 20 other staff which has left students worried they won’t get into the universities of their choice  

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A protest of 100 students from a London boys’ secondary school is underway as students complain they are sick of the management. 

Boys from St Aloysius College in Highgate have taken to the streets to protest amid fears they won’t get the grades they need at A-level to get into university. 

Their OBE-winning headteacher was forced to retire early last year, prompting walkouts from 20 other staff. 

Year 13 boys from St Aloysius secondary school in Highgate, London, have taken to the streets to protest the management after their OBE-winning headteacher was forced to retire early – leading to a mass exodus from 20 other staff 

Tom Mannion, 74, was awarded an OBE for his services to education and saw the school receive an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted report but was forced to bring his retirement forward after he was arrested on suspicion of fraud last year

Tom Mannion, 74, was awarded an OBE for his services to education and saw the school receive an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted report but was forced to bring his retirement forward after he was arrested on suspicion of fraud last year.

The Metropolitan Police have since said they will be bringing no further action against him. 

Boys at St Aloysius have been in turmoil since the dramatic loss in staff numbers over the past year. 

A group of year 13 students spoke to the Islington Tribune and said that they feared they would not get into the university of their choice.

One student, Paddy Cunningham, 18, who is hoping to study marine biology at university, said: ‘It was a mistake to stay at the school for sixth form.

‘My teacher can’t provide as many lessons to me because she has to teach another class at the same time. If you add up the hours it adds up to quite a lot after a year. I’m worrying I might fail my A-level exams.’

He said that teachers are finding themselves double booked for some lessons and that he is having to miss one lesson every week as a result.  

According to Islington Tribune reporter Emily Finch, the students are being told to go back inside the college or risk exclusion. 

Ms Finch says shouts of ‘everyone stay strong’ can be heard from the boys in the protest. 

The school’s latest Ofsted report said that pupil’s outcomes have declined in the past two years.  

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment ‘requires improvement’, as does the school’s ‘overall effectiveness’. 

The report says: ‘Teaching, over time, has not been good enough to ensure that pupils make strong progress across subjects. 

‘Teachers do not routinely plan activities that meet pupils’ needs. They do not use assessment information to plan work which builds on pupils’ prior knowledge, skills and understanding. This limits pupils’ progress. 

‘Some teachers’ expectations of what pupils, especially the most able, can achieve are too low. 

‘Pupils’ outcomes have declined in the past two years. Progress is now average overall, and varies between subjects.’ 

Mr Mannion’s arrest came last January after police suspected he may have been caught up in a £70,000 fraud scheme which involved buying new MacBook computers through the school’s accounts. 

In an interview with the Islington Gazette he said: ‘I just feel it’s important that my side of the story is out there in the open so the many people I’ve worked with over the years can see I never would even dream of doing anything that would affect youngsters’ education or funding’. 

He suspects that someone falsely implicated him in fraud scheme and claims that the Diocese of Westminster brought forward his retirement by three months. 

He said: ‘I’d worked in Catholic education for over 50 years and I was retiring in August. 

‘Am I going to be stealing a few computers, given I’ve fought tooth and nail for 50-odd years to make sure every penny went to the needs of children in schools?’

St Aloysius College has been contacted for comment.

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