"We have a quote in for this from Merryden but need to get more quotes. Sister feels that we should get the kitchen up and running before committing ourselves on this as it will be in the region of£7,000 to£8,000 ."
"There was much discussion regarding the financing of the land for the proposed extension to the school playground."
"The committee felt that there may be some money that could be saved from the budget and asked the headteacher to have a look at this to see what could be done. However, the headteacher said that there was no money available from the Annual Maintenance Grant as£25,000 had already been allocated to the new classroom."
"The governors decided that it should be recommended to the full board that no more money should be spent on the school unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
"The governors were concerned that Sr.Clotilde can spend up to£5,000 on anything she wishes for the school. They are also worried as to how it was possible for£9,500 to be spent on playground equipment without their prior consent. The minutes of the premises committee show that when last discussed at this level the decision had been made that there were not funds available and should be shelved for the time being. Concern was also expressed at the erection of the wall beside the infant block without prior knowledge or consent of the premises committee. It was stated that, in the future, any money spent on the school must have the prior approval of the Finance Committee.
"Response to the Minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the Management Committee, St Bartholomew's School, Swanley, held on24 July 1995
"I regret that you consider the nature and contents of the minutes which are part of the Governors ongoing attempts to improve control and accountability to render your position as Headteacher untenable. I believe that you have contributed a great deal to the development of the St Bartholomew's School and invite you to reconsider your position on this issue."
"I hereby tender my resignation as Headmistress of St Bartholomew's School from 29th August.
"It is with sadness that I accept your letter of resignation which I received yesterday. The Governors would like to express their sincere thanks and gratitude for the many hours of hard work you gave to the school. They feel that it will be difficult to find a Head as committed and dedicated as you were. You set a high standard in the school both for the staff and children. The work load you undertook was colossal.
"I have no note, however, that Mr Poole [solicitor for Sister Clotilde] submitted or referred in any way to an argument that the employers had repudiated the contract by formulating and airing criticisms of the Applicant at the meeting of the Management Committee of24 July 1995 in the manner recorded in the minutes thereof and commented upon.
"(i) The Respondent through her solicitor at the conclusion of the evidence explicitly abandoned the contention that there had been a repudiation of the contract of employment on the grounds of such criticisms which did not form part of the Respondent's complaint about criticism, which as particularised was restricted to three matters..."
"The finding that any criticisms made amounted to the stated breach of contract was wrong in law or perverse in that: (a) Any criticisms were not made by the Appellant, but by individuals on a Committee of the Appellant."
"(iv)(c) Even if any criticisms were in fact not well-founded, it was both reasonable and rational for them to be made. The Appellant and/or the said Committee was under a duty to monitor and appraise the Respondent's conduct, particularly in relation to expenditure. The proposition that any of the comments made by members of the Committee at the July meeting could have amounted to a breach or repudiatory breach of contract is unsustainable in law or perverse."
"The majority misdirected themselves in law and/or were perverse in finding that the Respondent had been constructively dismissed as a result of spending restrictions imposed on her at the July meeting (as recorded in what the majority called "Minutes" of that meeting), and by an undated letter written by the then Chairman of the Governors Father Hetherton ("the Chairman") at about the end of August 1985, in that:.."
"I find, however, that the Applicant could not reasonably have believed that the Governing Body had carried out these changes. She knew that it was the Management Committee only which had met on 24 July. She knew that she was employed by, and responsible to, the Governors as a whole. She must reasonably have been aware of the fact that nothing had been done by anybody to curtail her powers or to breach any express or implied term of her contract of employment. No resolutions had been taken at the meeting, and no action had been assigned to anybody as a result of it, or that would have appeared in the minutes. I cannot find, therefore, that a breach of the Applicant's contract of employment was within the contemplation of the Management Committee. Even if it had been, such breach had not become inevitable or anticipatory. The Management Committee had no express, implied or delegated power to bring about changes to the Applicant's contract of employment."
"The only specific clear finding of fact as to what the Respondent believed is contained in the minority reasons [which we have read out]. The majority made no or no clear finding of fact about the Respondent's relevant belief."
"The majority misdirected itself in law in finding that in the circumstances of the case there had not been a constructive dismissal on the grounds that any breach had been merely anticipatory, because: (a) They found that there had been an actual breach of contract (and not merely an anticipatory breach of contract), on the grounds that the Chairman led the Respondent to believe that a breach of contract had already occurred. (b) What the Respondent was "led to believe" by the Chairman was irrelevant to the issue as to whether there had been an actual as opposed to an anticipatory breach of contract. (c) Had the majority properly directed itself on its primary findings of fact or on the evidence it would have found that at most there had only been an unintentional anticipatory breach of contract, and that in such circumstances it would or should have found that the Respondent had not been constructively dismissed."
"We would agree with Phillips J's statement that there may be conduct so intolerable that it amounts to a repudiation of contract. There are threads then running through the authorities whether it is the implied obligation of mutual trust and confidence, whether it is that intolerable conduct may terminate a contract, or whether it is that the conduct is so unreasonable that it goes beyond the limits of the contract. But in each case, in our view, you have to look at the conduct of the party whose behaviour is challenged and determine whether it is such that its effect, judged reasonably and sensibly, is to disable the other party from properly carrying out his or her obligations. If it is so found that that is the result, then it may be that a Tribunal could find a repudiation of contract."