Leweston school abrupt closure

[kashcai]

Really sad to see this - another very good school that was just about affordable to lots of local families gone by the wayside. Seems to have come as a blindsiding shock to parents who found out today. Really sad for all the kids who won’t be returning to their classmates and community after half term. Clayesmore is miles away and Leweston was mostly a day school I believe. Our child was so keen to be heading there next year. Hope all affected manage to find places in time for Monday at their preferred back up options. Thinking of all the staff too.
https://www.leweston.co.uk/

Clayesmore is not part of the same group, the group that owns Clayesmore (and Sunninghill) are ILG and have offered support to all parents and are in no way linked to the group that own Leweston, who are Concept Education.

We have smaller schools near us.. 🫪

Perhaps Sherborne maybe able to organise a daily coach to help take the pupils and staff from the Leweston school area to their new school

Eh? Cause all the old staff automatically get jobs at the next nearest school, and the students simply relocate to the same schools, and the old school will lay on a coach (at a grand a day to hire) so fee paying families don't have to put themselves out to get the kids to schools they've had to organise with a few days' notice...?

That's not how ANY of this works at all!

Thanks. I did think it was strange - but it makes sense that it is in Clayesmore's interest to accept them.

The discount Sherborne is offering if the pp is correct is massive- how will that go down with those already paying fees at Sherborne?

Sherborne Girls has closed a boarding house so numbers must be falling, and think someone mentioned they have at the boys’ school too. A bum on a seat at even a big discount is better than no bum on the seat. That’s happening everywhere.

The letter does read like that, but they're part of separate groups. Although the private equity/school group market is so fishy, it would not surprise me if there were some links.

If you look at the Leweston website, they've invested a lot in capital projects over the last 10 years (swimming pool, riding centre, music centre, new hall) and they'd taken on a lot of debt to do so - secured against the land (which is owned by a separate trust). Interestingly, one of the trustees of the trust was the owner of Concept Education, which is owned by a couple of people in sussex.

It stinks of financial mismanagement - hopefully the directors will be struck off.

I agree
they couldn’t have been in a brilliant position at the end of June/July when they broke up for summer never mind Sept and now Oct only having been back 6-7 weeks. If I had kids there I’d be really annoyed and moving at this stage is really disruptive, if there is any places left at other alternatives.
Afew private schools have closed over the past couple of years near Nottingham/Leicester - one of the mums from one of my kids classes was a teacher at one and she said that numbers were down especially for international students with the whole EU/brexit situation but also for UK students a lot of people who previously may have afforded to pay school fees can’t because of the COLC and now, certainly in our area - the grammar schools are becoming a really popular option with places becoming very competitive.

the international thing is tricky- most international students in UK boarding schools are not EU nationals so I'm not sure how much Brexit's affected anything but there are definitely a few headwinds - I was living in HK when covid hit and that definitely gave a lot of parents pause on whether boarding overseas was a good idea (both expat parents and local parents who would send dc to uk for years 9-13) because with borders closing the whole thing became a logistical nightmare. There's also the fact that full boarding is dying out in the UK so parents without weekend options for DC are more reticent to send them to rattle around an empty school at weekends. Finally there are the overseas franchises whereby the UK schools that set these places up are kind of cannibalising the "mothership". There are also some political headwinds for international students from some countries whereby sending your DC overseas for school/Uni is somewhat frowned upon and might impact your own career/ opportunities.

I think Leweston has been on the edge since the 80s. It positioned itself as the day/weekly boarding alternative to Sherborne Girls which worked for a bit. Then brought the junior school on site. Then started accepting boys. It all smacks of a school that is raising cash any way it can. The other thing about the local area is that the state schools in Sherborne and nearby Dorchester are really strong so mainly of the people wanting a day school who previously would have gone private are now thinking it’s not worth it.

The school my friend taught at had a lot of Chinese students - boarding from age 11, and she was saying that a lot of these students stopped coming and as they paid higher fees, and this somewhat buffered the costs for everyone else which is a really good point - same for university students.

Either way, it is a massive shame for the kids involved, and the staff and really irresponsible of the directors to have allowed this to happen. Trying to get a school place sorted in a week or so is mission impossible.

@Besidemyselfwithworry do you mean because they were boarders they paid higher fees than day students? I haven't heard of schools differentiating between international and domestic students in respect of boarding or day fees other than to cover costs that are specific to internationals.

I feel very sorry for anyone whose kids are impacted negatively but to be fair Andy Burnham’s kids all went to a state comprehensive school.

Agreed, @Cyclingforcake, I wouldn't have put a child in Leweston in recent years, this doesn't feel unexpected to me. Gryphon and TH are excellent state schools, although they can't offer 'small school' vibes. What's Kings Bruton like these days? People I know who went there in the past wouldn't recommend it but times change I suppose.

No I think she meant as they were on a visa the fees for international students were higher but they all seemed to board or there is quite afew people who offer to be “host families” too and some of them lived with families.

Of the schools discussed here Canford is the strongest financially by a decent way. Someone said about King's College. Yes it's strong financially but a 20% drop in numbers over the last 5 years is very worrying

Sherborne fine financially and only a 10% drop over 5 years. A good option especially if looking for not very academically selective, or strong music.

Bryanston a good bet as close to Leweston and financially fine, and only 2.2% down in pupil numbers over 5 years

I think most Lewston pupils would be looking for a day place.

If they were happy to board then Canford the best best from a 'solid as a rock' point of view (but it's a good hour away)

I screenshotted this data from www.chapelandtuck.co.uk happy to screen shot any other schools if anyone needs.

EDITED to add - you need to click the image to see all the data

also - writing was on the wall for Leweston. They only had 1 month reserves left :)

So sad but also surely grossly negligent to have opened the doors in September?

Any parents who are now looking for new schools just make sure that wherever you go is really rock solid

EDITED to add - you need to click the image to see all the data

Andy Burnham is not our previous leader.

KS had a range of very good state schools to choose from thanks to being in London in a good catchment area- such privilege that many in rural areas are not able to be in. May we all have been so lucky.

These pupil numbers are slightly misleading and out of date. The number for Bryanston includes their prep.

Sherborne has over 1200 pupils now if you acknowledge the merger combining two preps and the boys/girls school.

Canford certainly in the strongest financial position.

I’d like to get this data @sandpapertonguebut for a school in a different area. Do I have to pay that website? I’d rather not say the name of the school online as it’s outing

@nothingcangowrongnow you can either pay or you get free access for a month if you fill in the quick survey
No account/card details/password needed for that option

www.chapelandtuck.co.uk/login?mode=start&callbackUrl=/survey

I don’t know loads about KB themselves, but I do know that many Hazelgrove (their prep school) pupils do not continue on to KB, and instead go to other senior schools. Maybe that says something? I don’t really know.

But Canford is a very different school.

Yes, Canford very different vibe to Leweston. Bryanstone or Sherborne better fit, and both seem financially stable enough. Just such a hugely sad situation, not just for the pupils but also the poor staff

@Sandpapertongue

Those figures aren’t 100% accurate and are slightly outdated. I know it’s not a huge difference but there are currently 425 pupils enrolled in the Senior school at King’s currently, not 389. 425 in a 490 capacity doesn’t seem that bad… This does not include the prep.

Isn’t Canford selective? So anyone looking with a child not so academic/sporty probably wouldn’t consider.