FAO: Tring Park School for the Performing Arts Principal & Board of Governors, Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan MP and Mr Gagan Mohindra MP for South West Hertfordshire

We, the undersigned, as a group of alumni, parents and current students of Tring Park School, and other concerned individuals, independent from the NEU and NASUWT, want to definitively state our solidarity with the staff who are undertaking strike action regarding their pension scheme. 

By working long hours without complaint, and often sacrificing their own free time out of dedication to their students, the staff at Tring Park have always shown that teaching is a labour of love. In an email to alumni last week, the Principal stated that the school ‘has always been committed to the well-being of its teaching staff’. It appears that this is no longer the case. 

With salaries that are already below other schools of similar calibre, the staff are being asked to take a 3.5% pay cut if they want to protect their pension scheme as it stands. This is unacceptable. The strain that this worrying situation will put on the mental health of staff is not only personally distressing, but publicly embarrassing for an institution that prides itself on pastoral care. 

Back in 2021, staff and supporters fought against the unethical “fire and rehire” proposal offered by the school. We are disgusted to hear that this so-called solution has still not been explicitly ruled out by the management. The school must clarify their stance on this. 

At the time of writing, the Instagram account @tringparkconcerns has 300 followers, and the growing outpouring of support is a testament to the loyalty & love we all hold for the teaching staff. Silence in the face of injustice is complicity with the oppressor. As a group, we refuse to be silent. 

Furthermore, the undersigned alumni would once again kindly like to inform the Tring Park School Management that we do not give permission for any media containing our names or images to be used to promote the school, from the date stated on this letter until the dispute is resolved to the teaching staff’s satisfaction. As this is a matter of data protection and we are no longer attending the school, we reserve our right to opt out of any Tring Park School advertising campaigns, be that online or in print, and any infringement on this clause shall be taken very seriously.