Andrew Lowden CA
Chief Financial Officer, Robert Gordon’s College

I didn’t think I had the skills and knowledge to work in education, but it didn’t take long to realise it was a perfect fit for me. I’ve just retired after 14 years at Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen, firstly as Director of Finance and Clerk to the Governors, then, for the last two years, as CFO as some larger schools are establishing complementary chief operating officer roles.

Working in education suited my approach to finance, which is based around integrity, honesty, fairness and equality. I like to be positive, progressive, so I loved working with motivated, capable academic colleagues, caring support staff and governors, all with a passion for education and young people.

There was no cunning plan involved in switching from industry to education. After 23 years working in industry, my job was uncertain, with relocation a distinct possibility. I was 50 years old and my daughter had just started secondary school – ironically at the school where I would end up working. The same school I went to myself as a pupil in the 1970s.

When Robert Gordon’s College advertised for a Director of Finance, a friend of mine called me up and said: “That’s a great job – you should apply.” I spoke to a deputy headteacher I knew from another school, and a contact who was a governor elsewhere, and realised it might be an interesting role. I had assessed the school thoroughly as a prospective parent and was impressed by its culture, message and resources. The school had just started a major investment programme and had ambitious plans to connect with international schools.

“Finance professionals play an increasingly important role in schools. An independent school is also a business, but it doesn’t get government support and therefore has no safety net”

Andrew Lowden CA, Robert Gordon’s College

As Director of Finance, I was a traditional bursar, responsible for everything that wasn’t academic. So that’s finance, including charity accounting and investment portfolio management, HR, a two-site estate and operations, which includes janitors, cleaning, catering and maintenance. I had a large staff working for me, capable people in the specialist operational areas and trusted professional advisers. I was also Clerk to the Governors, so a wide-ranging remit. In industry I’d already moved away from nuts-and-bolts finance into tenders, bids and customer interface, so the operational aspects of working in the school appealed to me. In my last two years I focused mainly on finance.

One project I was particularly proud of was our science and performing arts facility. When I started my job, the school had already committed to purchasing a building onsite for this purpose. The building belonged to Robert Gordon University, which was relocating to another part of Aberdeen.

I finalised the purchase, managed a tender process and the planning, designing and procuring of construction work. To fund the project, we had to generate cash from within the school and borrow from the bank. We had surplus land near the playing fields, so we sold that to raise funds. I also worked with the fundraising team to generate money to pay off the bank loan.

Princess Anne opened the facility – named the Wood Foundation Centre for Science and Technology and Craig Centre for Performing Arts – in 2014, and it won a school building award. The science centre has become the envy of other schools around the country. We claimed – and no one has challenged us – that this is the largest Stem teaching facility of its kind in the UK, with 34 labs.

Finance professionals play an increasingly important role in schools. An independent school is also a business, but it doesn’t get government support and therefore has no safety net. You must get the finances right – strategy, fee and commercial income, expenditure, the annual budget, five-year business plan, the capital expenditure plan working and funded, maintaining a sound relationship with the bank… all this requires business acumen to enable the “end product” of happy, confident, well-educated young adults.

Fiona Duncanson CA
Business Director, St George’s School

CAs can play an important role in schools supporting educational leaders. Education drives the decisions we make, but initiatives also need to be financially feasible as well, particularly in the current climate.

It has been a challenging few years for independent schools in Scotland. In 2022, they lost charitable exemption on business rates relief. Employer contributions to teachers’ pensions have increased significantly. And earlier this year, the UK government introduced VAT on school fees. There are also planned rises in employers’ national insurance contributions. All of this has, and will, put additional pressure on school finances. It’s an exciting time to be working in the sector, though, and navigating these challenges has taught me a great deal.

My CA training gives me a good understanding of overall strategy and sensible business decision making. With this I can help school staff understand what the financial challenges mean for them and work out how best to respond. Adaptability is needed for school systems to run efficiently. St George’s is an independent school and a charity so we’re not-for-profit but we need to make a surplus that allows us to invest in the future of the school.  

I’m responsible for the non-teaching side of the school – strategy, commercial operations, finance, IT, estates. For example, on the operational side I make sure buildings are warm, well maintained and functional. When it comes to strategy, I consider, among other things, what our estate needs to look like in the next 10 years, implementing new IT systems, making sure we comply with health and safety legislation, GDPR and employment legislation. In finance, I have to make sure fees are collected, that we budget well and spend money on the right things.

“I love being part of an organisation that is working towards removing barriers for girls and young women”

Fiona Duncanson CA, St George’s School, Edinburgh

It’s important that state schools get the government funding they need, but I don’t think adding VAT to independent school fees is the answer. Particularly in Scotland, because VAT is retained to Westminster and education devolved to Scotland, so there’s no way of ringfencing that money for education in Scotland. The timeframe for implementation was extremely tight so it’s been a steep learning curve.

I did my ICAS training at PwC, before I joined St George’s. It was brilliant, the sheer breadth of that training. You gain general business and strategy knowledge, and as well as accounting, a basic understanding of company law. It’s a good jumping board into lots of different roles.

It’s so rewarding to be part of facilitating the important work that goes on in a school. I’m contributing to something other than the bottom line or shareholder return and I’m surrounded by highly capable and passionate colleagues. St George’s is the only all-girls school in Edinburgh and I love being part of an organisation that is working towards removing barriers for girls and young women.

Julie Lerbech CA
Chief Operating Officer, Confederation of School Trusts

The Confederation of School Trusts is the sector body for school trusts in England. These are groups of schools that come together to form a single organisation, operating under a charitable trust. We advocate and support executive and governance leaders in school trusts. We now represent 80% of the sector.

I look inward at us as a charity and a company. This allows my CEO and other colleagues to deliver services to our members. I love being the number two. What I do helps make everybody else’s job easier. I put the systems, policies and procedures in place so others so can focus on service delivery.

I don’t work directly with individual school trusts. Instead, I run internal finance for our organisation, our operations, HR, compliance and secretarial.

Our organisation has two parts, one being a charity to which school trusts pay a membership fee, allowing them to access our core services. Everything else we do runs through our trading subsidiary. These services are extra options for members, including our big annual conference, which attracts 1,000 people each year, at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. Last year, Bridget Phillipson gave her first ever speech as Education Secretary there.

We run online learning programmes for members, provide consultancy services and manage 11 professional communities. Each of these communities targets a key role within school trusts – finance, Send [special educational needs and disabilities], operations, directors of improvement, and others. We run a specific conference for each group, each year.

“It’s great to be part of a charity that helps bring meaningful change for young people. Children only get one shot at education, and I believe we have a moral duty to make that the best possible experience”

Julie Lerbech CA, Confederation of School Trusts

I have a traditional finance function. I process the results of conferences, share the results with management and build models and forecasts in Excel so colleagues can understand the business side of our operations. I also work with commercial partners who want to work within the sector and take out stands at our conferences. This allows us to reduce delegate costs. We run a profit and loss statement at each conference to work out whether it breaks even. If one event doesn’t, we work out whether that’s okay – say, if the conference offers a valuable service to our members. I love the variety in my job.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left university. I found accountancy interesting; I was good with numbers. I’m grateful for my CA qualification, the doors it has opened for me and the jobs I’ve had. Although I was offered a place for a postgraduate certificate in education [PGCE] as a chemistry teacher, I’ve never used it because I went down the accountancy route.

I’ve got huge respect for teachers, but I know I ended up in the right place within education. I had 14 years as an independent school bursar, but joined the Confederation of School Trusts because I liked the idea of using my experience and knowledge to have a policy influence on education in the state system.

It’s great to be part of a charity that helps bring meaningful change for young people. Children only get one shot at education, and I believe we have a moral duty to make that the best possible experience and outcome. There are excellent careers available in education for people with a finance background.

Read our Big Picture feature on CAs in conservation