THE case of a top girls' grammar which has been allowed to have debts of £1.3 million should not set a precedent for other schools, councillors were told.

Buckinghamshire County Council has intervened in the financial management at Beaconsfield High School - after it entered into an ambitious building contract without the funds in place to pay for it.

Building work on a new 'Learning Centre' at the Wattleton Road school began in October last year, after the school signed a £2 million contract with construction company Leadbitter.

The school is to sell part of its land to a property developer in order to repay the debts (see link below).

The council's Regulatory and Audit Committee is monitoring the situation and members yesterday received an update from Anne Davies, the head of legal and democratic services.

She said a planning application for 14 flats would be made before the land sale, to increase its value.

Councillors raised concerns over the length of time this could take and the interest that would be accrued on the debt in the mean time.

Mrs Davies said: “Planning permission is still being worked up and an application should be submitted very shortly.

“Some of this money [from the sale] could come back to the council.”

When asked if other schools might see this building project as a course to follow she said “this shouldn't be a precedent”.

Beaconsfield High is a Foundation school, meaning it is maintained by the local authority but given greater freedom than other schools.

Since the council's auditor identified a number of areas of “serious weakness” in its financial management the school has given up its 'chequebook' financial management status and salary payments to BCC.

The committee asked for an update on the situation in three months time.