The headteacher who stole £15,000 from schools after racking up £100k in credit card debt

A once-respected headteacher's career has been shattered after it was revealed that he had stole £15,000 from two schools after spiralling into £100,000 of credit card debt

The headteacher's "excellent" career is now ruined after he was exposed as a fraud. Neil Metcalf was once "precisely the sort one would want in leadership in a school", motivating students and inspiring confidence at St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary School and Our Lady's Bishop Eton Catholic Primary School in Merseyside, where he worked.

However, behind the scenes, he betrayed his position of trust to steal more than £15,000 from these schools, as he struggled under a massive £100,000 credit card debt. The 51-year-old from Jubilee Avenue in Childwall involved his oblivious stepson in the fraud by sending him cheques to deposit into Metcalf's personal bank account once cleared.

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He made six fraudulent payments of £1,800 each, summing up to £10,800, taken from St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary between September 2017 and May 2022. Additionally, Our Lady's Bishop Eton Catholic Primary saw three illicit payments of £2,160, £250 and £2,280 from September 2022 to September 2023 - totalling £15,490.

He admitted to two charges of fraud by abuse of position last month at Liverpool Crown Court. The misconduct came to light after a finance officer at Our Lady's Bishop Eton grew suspicious of peculiar invoices attributed to School Fit and J. Neil, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Upon enquiring, Metcalf claimed they related to "health and safety" expenses.

In court, Prosecutor Callum Ross stated: "The officer recalled how Neil was the surname of the defendant's stepson, who was