Why are Chinese-owned independent schools being sold or closed so quickly?

[RachelThieveyReevey]

Just heard of another Chinese owned independent school closing. There have been several recently and have also heard rumours of several other Chinese owned about to go up for sale. After buying up so many in a short time, it seems they’re all offloading just as quickly. It’s a sorry state of affairs for the poor kids and staff members involved, but was wondering if this is about more than the schools themselves. Financially, it was never a good investment with the prospect of Labour’s education tax, but Is there a greater reason as to why these Chinese businesses are all exiting so swiftly?

They were probably bought for the land they are on/ alternative building use.

Maybe their long term goal was never about education

our local one is now stunning flats each unit £350 - £450 k

less privileged kids at private school is great as far as I'm concerned

the only good thing labour has done is close many inadequate private schools it has made it more of a flex if your kids do go to one sadly

Sadly, it has just made private education more elitist. Less bursaries/ scholarships and pushing out of reach of middle income means that the super wealthy will be the only ones in independent schools and less unprivileged kids will be able to access private school ( whether it be for academic, SEND or other needs).

However, my musings are more on if there is another reason as to why so many companies from a specific country are pulling out of British schools so quickly. They were only ever city projects rather than money making in the first place.

When my children were young and my husband (now ex) was on a 6 figure city salary we couldn’t afford private schools. Lots of ordinary parents were pushed out of private schooling a long time ago.

What do you think the reason could be?

I don’t think China does this sort of thing by accident. There’s always a strategy.

Because they clearly are not financially profitable enough. This has nothing to do with VAT. It has to do with the trustees of the school choosing to sell out to the highest bidder who had no vested interest in the school. It a bit like locals selling their homes to overseas buyers and then complaining that they sit vacant most of the year and local people are priced out of the market. If the trustees had sold off the school to foreign investors, I would have walked with my feet. No one did. Everyone was fine with it. Until they weren’t and now they want to cry about it.

This has been happening for a long time and under Tory leadership, so is not a Labour issue. But families who could once afford independent schools, now simply cannot. It’s a hard thump down to reality for a lot of people who thought they were above the peasants. I went to independent schools my entire education, same with Dh. We’ve chosen to send our dc to state school because we don’t think it’s a sustainable viable alternative. But for a certain segment of the middle classes, that suggestion is very offensive. The reality is that families increasingly cannot afford it and these schools need to change or close. These ones are closing.

The reason Chinese investors are buying them is because they can. They have the money. I work in higher education and I’d say half our applicants are Chinese. Because they can afford the overseas fees while British students are struggling on max loans to afford reduced fees. There is wealth and money in China that we don’t see here. We are an old imperialist economy, not a new tech based one. We just can’t compete in late stage capitalism. It’s not a conspiracy theory.

This would be my guess too.
Blocks of flats near me go on sale in China, never darkening uk estate agents doors.

some remain empty for years, some get rented out. U.K. is seen as a safe place to buy property and hold cash in an asset.

Several? I've heard of Malvern St James this year and Thetford Grammar.

This is such a nasty comment- you do realise you are talking about real people who have lost their jobs and homes - thousands of us now - I’m one of them. Spiteful and childish. Any other sector losing jobs in this number would be receiving support not gloating. We aren’t selling crack to kids we are teaching them - and at my school a large % are SEN, particularly ASD who have already been failed by mainstream schools, but thrive in our smaller classes. It’s incredibly disruptive for the y10 and 12 kids, and not all of the children have found schools yet - state schools are now full. These are not ‘posh’ kids somewhere swanky, it’s a school that ordinary people used because of our pastoral care - but now can’t afford. It’s very difficult to find a new job because, guess what, state schools can’t afford older teachers because they haven’t been given more money.

@MyJustCat Abbotsholme have just announced closure too. They were owned by the same company that closed Chase grammar last July.

@RachelThieveyReevey I hadn't realised that, as a parent at a similar school its worrying especially as you say you've heard rumours of several other Chinese owned about to go up for sale, really flipping hope ours isn't one of them, but I don't think its the same company so hopefully not.

Sale doesn’t mean inevitable closure though but if owners think they will not make money due to falling rolls, they get out of the sector.

Thetford Grammar’s an odd one though. It’s one of the oldest schools in the world and the buildings and playing field can’t be redeveloped due to the buildings’ listed status and ancient churches under the field. The current year 10 is the biggest for years and so this is potentially affecting more children in exam years than it would have in any year past or future. They haven’t gone bankrupt but the accounts are really opaque. It really not clear what the Chinese owners are up to, maybe they have lost confidence in their investment, due to VAT, etc, or maybe it’s something more.

@RachelThieveyReevey Stoke College announced their closure today, they're fairly local to me and I had no idea they were owned by Chinese investors, sad for all the staff and children and starting to get nervous about my own DC school. If you've heard rumours of any other similarly owned schools in the same county would you pm me please.

Ours attended a selective, highly academic independent senior school in the 80s and 90s. It’s been a long time since many of the sort of fairly ordinary - not loaded - parents we used to know then, have been able to afford school fees.

A relative of dh has just had to find new school places for her 4 children - nursery age to Y5 - after their small independent primary closed. Both parents are in reasonably well paid professional jobs but even with help from parents, it was still a struggle. TBH I think they’re relieved that the decision has more or less been taken out of their hands.

Or even, they want to run down the UK's independent education sector as a way of damaging a fundamental part of our society and economy...?
Would be interesting to see the numbers of 'oseas students at the obliterated schools..