He gave them a clean bill of health but found that they managed to gain only about half the Department for Education’s target for business contributions of £2,562,000.Although the zone in Southwark, south London, exceeded expectations, Leicester raised only £3,000 in its first seven months and zones in Halifax, Aston and Nechells in Birmingham and East Brighton did not receive any business contributions, although they did get promises of money.The watchdog found that of the first 25 zones that were audited, 10 had not submitted final accounts 12 months after the 1999 financial year ended. The auditors also found that some zones “had poor control over monies given to schools” and that others had breached the Treasury’s own accounting standards.Many of the zones found difficulty spending the funds given to them by central government, the report found. Because some grants were paid late in the year some zones used unorthodox accounting methods to hide the fact that they had not spent the money.”The payment of grants so late in the year creates a risk that zones will use creative accounting to disguise the fact that they have not used them. For example, one school in a zone persuaded a supplier to raise an invoice dated March 1999 to create the impression that they had used their funds before the year end,” the Auditor General said.He also discovered that late payment of grants encouraged zones to pay suppliers before they received goods. “One zone bought several years’ supply of book bags for pupils in order to use their funds,” he said. “Another agreed to make an unnecessarily large payment for services provided by the local authority while waiting to receive a formal invoice.”Sir John concluded that “there were risks from the outset in paying substantial sums to very small, newly formed bodies – eg impropriety, poor value for money and inadequate accounting”.The zones are run by teachers, parents and others with little or no accounting experience.The Department for Education and Employment welcomed the report and said that the standards in education action zones were rising faster than in other schools. “These zones have had a significant impact on schools in some of our most deprived areas and we remain fully committed to seeing them succeed,” said Estelle Morris, the minister for School Standards.But the Tory MP David Davis, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said it was “disappointing” that private-sector contributions had not met expectations..

An assistant head teacher who hanged himself at school may have committed suicide due to the “Herculean” strains of his job, teachers’ leaders said yesterday. An assistant head teacher who hanged himself at school may have committed suicide due to the “Herculean” strains of his job, teachers’ leaders said yesterday.
The body of Patrick Stack, aged 45, was discovered by a teacher in a garage in the grounds of the 1,700-pupil Sedgehill School in Bellingham, south London, at midday on Wednesday.The school was closed yesterday out of respect for Mr Stack, who had worked there for more than eight years and was last year awarded an MBE for services to education.Nigel de Gruchy, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters and Women Teachers, said the pressure of his heavy workload may have been too much for him to bear.Mr de Gruchy said: “Everyone at the school is flabbergasted as well as saddened. They are deeply shocked and there is no immediate explanation but it is true he was carrying a Herculean workload and involving himself inside and outside school in an enormous range of activities.”Mr Stack, who taught 14- to 16-year-olds, was a vocational and life skills teacher, taking lessons on personal, social and health issues. He was admired for his commitment to extra-curricular activities and his stance against bullying. As the school’s second in command, he performed gate duty at the end of each school day and was praised for his pastoral care.A statement issued last night by Mr Stack’s widow, Kathy, read: “I have lost a wonderful husband and [our four] children a devoted father. Pat was an extraordinarily talented and dedicated teacher who worked long and hard for the school and the community He loved working with young people… His family and friends were and remain immensely proud of him.

We are devastated by his death and the circumstances surrounding it.”Pupils laid wreaths yesterday at the garage where Mr Stack’s body was found, just a hundred yards from classrooms.Sandra Pearson, whose 13-year-old son is a pupil at the school, paid tribute to the work of Mr Stack “He was a highly respected teacher. He sorted out a few bullies for my boy and dealt with problems like that all the time.”Although police say they are not treating the death as suspicious, parents and pupils said they could not believe the teacher would have chosen to take his own life. Kelly Lloyd, 16, said: “Every day he would walk past with a big smile on his face He was really happy. He was one of the most popular teachers in the school.”Pupils were sent home on Wednesday afternoon with a letter to parents explaining that there had been a tragic incident involving one of the teachers. Counsellors are to be brought in to work with staff and the children when they return today. A memorial assembly will be held today.Lewisham Council’s chief executive, Barry Quirk, said: “Mr Stack was a well respected, much loved and talented teacher who was an established and valued member of the school and local community.”A Department for Education and Employment spokesman said: “This is a sad personal tragedy and we will obviously be looking at what support we can offer the school and the local education authority.”The school cancelled a planned visit yesterday by the Arts minister Alan Howarth and the Schools minister Jacqui Smith who had been due to launch Artsmark, a national award for schools, with Peter Hewitt, the chief executive of the Arts Council..

University heads had an average pay rise last year of more than double that offered to their staff, a survey published today reports. University heads had an average pay rise last year of more than double that offered to their staff, a survey published today reports.
Lecturers’ accused them of a “fat-cat mentality” when The Times Higher Education Supplement revealed that vice-chancellors’ pay went up by 6.3 per cent and pay for lecturers and researchers rose by 3 per cent.The highest paid vice-chancellor is John Quelch, dean of the London Business School, who earned £266,000 after a rise of 5.6 per cent. Michael Wright, the vice-chancellor of Aston University was the second highest. His pay rise of 10.3 per cent took his salary to £161,000.Arthur Lucas, principal of King’s College London, earns £158,000 after a rise of 15.3 per cent. Lord Oxburgh, who retired last month as rector of Imperial College, London, received a 27.1 per cent increase, taking his salary to £136,000. Dai John, the vice-chancellor of Luton, had a pay rise of 24.1 per cent to £130,000.David Triesman, general secretary of the Association of University Teachers, said: “These figures reveal a shameless attempt by vice-chancellors to reward themselves for the hard work and effort of their staff. This fat-cat mentality smacks of hypocrisy of the highest order.” Tom Wilson, head of the universities department at thelecturers’ union, Natfhe, said:”It is never clear what criteria are used for deciding vicechancellors’ salaries.