Who is Jonathan Career Timeline Our Response Testimonials FAQs Add Your Voice The Legal Case 1990s Context TRA Reform The Evidence

A Tribute by Friends, Colleagues & Family

Standing with
Jonathan Ullmer

"The truth is not for all men, but only for those who seek it." — Ayn Rand
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Jonathan Ullmer MBE receiving his honour

Who is Jonathan Ullmer

An educator who devoted 30 years to transforming young lives

Jonathan Ullmer MBE is an award-winning educator whose schools consistently received top ratings for safeguarding and pastoral care. He doubled the size of a college, won national excellence awards, and was recognised by Prince William in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

In 2018, a former student made historical accusations from 25 years prior. Those allegations led to a TRA tribunal whose process we believe was deeply flawed — relying on a single, uncorroborated voice while ignoring decades of evidence, numerous character witnesses, and basic legal safeguards.

"Jonathan's vision and leadership transformed the college into a centre of excellence. He is the perfect ambassador for British education abroad." Director of Studies

Jonathan has been deeply moved by the hundreds of people who have stood by him. This site is our collective record of the facts, and our statement of support.

Our Position

We believe Jonathan. We know what he stood for.

Hundreds of former students, colleagues and friends have stepped forward. Here are the facts as we understand them.

01

No Criminal Findings

The police took absolutely no action due to a complete lack of evidence. Jonathan has never been arrested, charged or prosecuted. The TRA is not a court of law.

02

One Man's Word

The verdict rested on the uncorroborated testimony of one ex-student — a professional undercover journalist and actor — who has since published a book and given media interviews about the case.

03

A Flawed Process

The hearing recording was lost. Legal thresholds were not met. The panel chair admitted having "no idea what goes on in schools." Recovered memories were not scrutinised. The outcome is unjust.

Jonathan's Story

A career built on belief in young people

Jonathan's guiding conviction throughout 30 years of teaching was simple: every young person deserves someone who believes in them. That conviction shaped every school he led, every community project he founded, and every student he mentored.

Early Life & Training
Durham, Oxford & Canada

Jonathan read English & French at St John's College, Durham, where he became an honorary lifetime member of the Student Union. He trained at New College Oxford, then won a Rotary Fellowship to study in Canada. On returning to the UK, he chose to teach at a comprehensive in Swanley over a prestigious private school — believing he could make a greater difference to children who needed it most.

1990s
Cecil Jones High School, Southend-on-Sea

Jonathan launched school productions, community drama in theatres and care homes, and initiatives with local primary schools. He was among the first teachers in the country to receive performance-based pay, featured on BBC's The Money Programme. He won an English Speaking Union Scholarship to study arts teaching in America. The school won national drama awards.

📺 BBC: The Money Programme · National Drama Awards · ESU Scholarship
2000s
Sawyers Hall College

After almost 20 years at Cecil Jones, Jonathan moved to Sawyers Hall — a school with significant embedded challenges — and helped guide it out of special measures. He oversaw citizenship and enterprise initiatives, special needs restructuring, and a national data-driven pilot for student targeting.

2010–2016
CATS Cambridge & CATS Canterbury

Appointed Vice-Principal of CATS Cambridge, achieving Good across all areas and Outstanding in Leadership. At CATS Canterbury, student numbers grew from just over 200 to over 500. He introduced the award-winning "Tell Us" button — allowing anonymous student feedback. Inspectors rated Canterbury Excellent in every single category, including pastoral care. CATS Colleges won Senior School of the Year and a TES Award for Student-Centred Boarding.

🏅 MBE awarded by Prince William in the Queen's Birthday Honours List
2016–2018
Haileybury Astana, Kazakhstan

Jonathan's final headship overhauled outdated policies, strengthened safeguarding, and elevated academic standards. By inspection, the school achieved recognition for excellence in 17 out of 19 areas. He prepared the school for IB and American High School diplomas.

2018
Retirement — and what followed

By the end of his time in Kazakhstan, Jonathan had become seriously ill with cardiac issues and inflammation. His mother died. Then came the allegation from a former pupil — an accusation of events allegedly occurring 25 years prior. After three decades giving everything to education, Jonathan chose to come home to his family.

Full Response

Statement on behalf of friends, colleagues & family

Respected Headteacher Condemns TRA Tribunal as 'Deeply Flawed'

Jonathan Ullmer MBE was found guilty of historical misconduct on the balance of probability by the TRA — a decision he argues was reached through a string of avoidable misjudgements based on the lone testimony of one ex-student.

"This wasn't a fair investigation. It was a flawed process that failed to ask the right questions, failed to apply the right legal standards, and ultimately failed to tell the true story."

A Catalogue of Errors

Click each failure to read the full analysis.

The panel failed to apply the correct legal threshold to serious and improbable allegations, offering no explanation of how it assessed credibility or likelihood when dealing with allegations made 25+ years after the alleged events by a single uncorroborated witness.

The TRA has acknowledged that the recording of the public hearing was lost — making any meaningful appeal extraordinarily difficult. This is an institutional failure of the gravest order. Crucially, the recording would have confirmed the complainant's oral acknowledgement — witnessed by Jonathan, his wife and his counsel — that his allegations first emerged during therapy.

The complainant made his allegations after undergoing therapy — recalling events never previously mentioned. There is no indication the panel approached this testimony with the caution required. The therapist later became a personal friend of the complainant, raising questions of impartiality that went entirely unaddressed.

The panel chair admitted she had "no idea what goes on in schools." This fundamental lack of context undermined the panel's ability to fairly judge practices that were common and accepted in extracurricular arts education during the 1990s.

Jonathan's unblemished 30-year career, MBE, Outstanding Ofsted ratings, and extensive character evidence from colleagues and students were given little to no weight. The written determination contains no meaningful engagement with his substantial character evidence.

The TRA panel specifically found several allegations not proven — including the shoe horn allegations, the office keys, and overnight stays at Jonathan's parents' accommodation. We believe the complainant's published memoir presents some of these not-proven allegations as established fact. Jonathan reserves all rights in this respect.

"A lifetime of work, thrown aside on the basis of one man's word."

We are calling for a full review of the TRA's procedures, and the legal safeguards in place for teachers facing historic, uncorroborated allegations. The case currently rests with the Department for Education, from whom we await a detailed response.

Read the Full Legal Analysis →

Voices of Support

What those who know Jonathan say

Former students, colleagues and friends from across Jonathan's career have shared their experiences.

An exceptional motivator with a clear moral compass Never self-promoting, always enabling the best in people He gave freely of his time to any student who needed it His passion for teaching is contagious Pastoral care and safeguarding were of paramount importance He helped me believe in myself A galvaniser of teams — leading by example An exceptional motivator with a clear moral compass Never self-promoting, always enabling the best in people He gave freely of his time to any student who needed it His passion for teaching is contagious Pastoral care and safeguarding were of paramount importance He helped me believe in myself A galvaniser of teams — leading by example
Jonathan is the best boss I have ever worked for. He is one of the most understanding people I have had the pleasure to work with.
University Officer
Your drama lessons and the confidence you placed in all of us made us able to speak out in any situation. You gave us a skill for life.
Former Student
I was in the technical team for productions. Your direct involvement has led me to have an amazing career in theatre.
Former Student
Every job I go into I take the confidence you gave me. I'm so grateful for everything you did for me.
Former Student, Cecil Jones
He set high standards from the outset, but most importantly he made students central to everything we did.
Welfare & Safeguarding Staff
Jonathan's ethos as Principal was ensuring students and staff achieved their absolute best. Pastoral care and safeguarding were of paramount importance.
Head of Boarding & Welfare
I am aware of the TRA's conclusions, but I do not share their assessment. Based on first-hand experience, I continue to have full confidence in Jonathan's integrity and conduct.
Close Friend of Complainant (Testimony to TRA)
Jonathan has shown a tremendous commitment to education and to furthering the lives of young people in his care. He is the perfect ambassador for British education abroad.
Director of Studies
Jonathan always had an open door policy. Students or staff could walk in and just chat. We often picked up issues before they became problems.
Senior Teacher
The children's focus and commitment to rehearsals in their own time was incredible. Jonathan just commanded their respect.
Primary School Deputy Head
Jonathan is honest, open, caring, and professional. He has always focused on doing the best for other people. He is quite simply a top-notch person and I trust him completely.
Colleague
As a leader I have great respect for Jonathan. He has the ability to strategize, motivate and deliver outcomes whilst leading by example. I learned a great deal from him.
Teacher, Haileybury

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

We understand this case raises many questions. Here we address the most common ones honestly and directly.

Why would Jonathan leave his job if he was innocent?

Jonathan was experiencing deep depression and severe physical ill health. A close friend of almost 30 years had made sudden and distressing accusations. His mother had died. He had suffered potentially fatal sepsis during an international inspection and at times needed pain-killing injections to participate in his working day.

He was also aware his employer had already been meeting with his accuser. At that moment, in those circumstances, he chose to come home to his family rather than fight on alone. Choosing not to fight is not an admission of guilt — it is an entirely human response to an impossible situation.

What is the TRA and what does a verdict actually mean?

The Teaching Regulation Agency is a government executive agency — not a court of law. Cases are decided on the "balance of probability" by panels of three people, meaning a bare majority of two can impose a lifetime ban from teaching. Referrals to the TRA have increased by over 60% in recent years. The NAHT has formally designated it a "failing regulator."

Does the TRA verdict mean Jonathan is guilty?

No. The police took no action against Jonathan whatsoever, citing a complete lack of evidence. He has never been arrested, charged, or judged by any court of law. The TRA verdict was reached on the civil "balance of probability" standard — not the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

Why did the complainant maintain contact for years if the allegations are true?

This is one of the most striking aspects of the case. The complainant maintained a warm, enthusiastic, and voluntary ongoing friendship with Jonathan for many years after leaving school. He participated in theatre projects, showed off his first car, sought advice on leasing his first apartment, and visited Jonathan's children shortly after they were born.

His own close school friends testified in Jonathan's defence. The complainant himself stated it was only through therapy — decades later — that he came to reinterpret these experiences as abusive.

What happens next?

The case currently rests with the Department for Education, from whom we await a detailed response. We are calling for a full review of TRA procedures — particularly for cases resting on historic, uncorroborated testimony recovered through therapy. If you knew Jonathan and wish to add your voice, please use the contact form below.

Add Your Voice

Did you know Jonathan?

If you are a former student, colleague, or friend and would like to share your experience, we would be honoured to hear from you. Your testimonial — published anonymously if you prefer — helps ensure the full story is told.

Your details are kept strictly private and will not be shared with any third party.