CHARITY bosses have cleared governors of any wrongdoing over their decision to close St Bees School. 

Despite campaigners raising more than £1.5 million to save the 432-year-old private school, the decision to close at the end of the last academic year went ahead.

The governors’ conduct was investigated by the Charity Commission, which published its findings yesterday.

It said: "The decision to close the school was properly taken, in that it was within the governors' powers and followed the specific requirements in the governing document about making decisions and conducting meetings.

"We found no evidence of mismanagement or misconduct by the governors.

"While we are of the view that there were matters that the governors could have reacted to quicker, there is no evidence that they acted otherwise than in good faith."

The commissioners said the background to the closure was a fall in numbers of fee-paying students.