Independent school Closing after my kids have just started

[Nanny01]

I Have just found out that my kids started in September that it will close in the summer. We moved them as we thought that we would make things better but we are now in a worse position. My question is do you think that we will get the fees back if we want to leave now and the cost of a v-expensive uniform that has only been worn for a term. My hubby is seeing there governors next week to ask as we just want to get our kids and leave before every one else does. Can't believe that they took our money and a term later. They took new children only a few weeks ago to. What would you guys do

You won't get fees back as you'll still have a notice period - typically a term. It is unusual for a school to give so much notice that it is going to close - is it really a sudden surprise or was it obviously on the cards?

I guess your dh could see whether the governors have approached the likes of Cognita or GEMS to see if they would be interested in buying it?

I doubt the contract you signed will allow for refund of fees, and it will state the minimum notice period - normally a clear term, so you may find you have to pay to the end of the summer term regardless (sorry).

It might be worth getting a lawyer to look at the contract you signed. They may have deliberately misled you or perhaps they had no idea it was going to close at the time however.

I was thinking the same as Xenia that it might be worth looking at whether or not they knew there was a real prospect of the school not being able to stay open when you signed the contract. I think there is a possibility that you could argue that you had a reasonable expectation that the school would remain open and would provide the service you contracted for. You would need specific legal advice as it any rights you might have under the contract would very much depend on the specific facts of who knew what when.

We had a similar situation a few years back.

Our DD started boarding at a school at the start of the Spring term. Then 3 weeks after starting they called to tell us they would be closing the boarding hous at theend of the summer term and becoming a day only school. The fact we lived just over an hour from the school meant that DD becoming a day pupil was not an option.

The school were actually very good and said they understood if we wanted to withdraw asap. We didnt as we had no where else to go. We spent the nex 3 months furtively searching for an alternative school that suited our DDs needs.

However, the school did not offer back our £500 depoit we had paid when accepting the place (literally 1 month before they dropped their bombshell).

Our contract said the deposit was refundable ONLY if pupil completed their time at the school which would be the end of year 8. Obviously, our DD was never going to get to year 8 because they were closing the boarding house and leaving us (and others) no option than to withdraw our child. In the end I asked for our deposit back which they did eventually return to us without too much quibble.

I was very annoyed as we too had spent a fortune on ALOT (boarders generally need lots) of school uniform. I regained a small amount of money back by selling it in the school secondhand uniform shop - an option for us because the school was remaining open as a day school.

I would suggest you speak to the school asap about your plans to remove the children as soon as you have found an alternative school. They may or may not be very helpful regarding a terms notice of fees but you can but ask. I would also look into getting back your deposit as well.

I would also suggest you dont waste 5 minutes finding an alternative school - as others will be looking too, squeezing any spare spaces in both the state and private sector. Being that it is so recently your DC started at their new school, were there any other schools that you looked at recently and liked? Are they worth reconsidering now?

For what its worth for us - the move although horribly upsetting and stressful at the time meant we found what we think is the best school in the world for our DC. We had originally dismissed it because of its location from where we then lived, but it turned out to be fantastic, and now I look back and think how lucky we were to find it.

Good luck to you - I hope everything pans out ok for you and your DC without too much stress.

This is a salutary tale and shows how important it is for prospective parents to ask very searching questions about school finances when considering which school to choose, even to ask for acounts (which should be publicly available either via Charity Commission if it is a charity or COmpanies house).

Agree with the above post. Private schools ask very searching questions about YOUR finances and income - especially if you are applying for a bursary - but it is a sad fact that many private schools are having to close as they cannot balance the books themselves.
You may want to google St Ursulas school Bristol where parents set up an Action group to save the school. This former private school is due to become an academy in September 2011 but it is still unclear whether it will be primary or all-age school.

Just reinforcing what willali has said.Perusing the charity commission has shown me that a school near my daughters school is in serious financial problems, yet still agressivly recruiting new pupils.

Just seen a school in our area is closing come the summer (may even be the same oen ?), although it seems a trust will stillr un in its name, wonder if it is the same. Another apparently has declining numbers and it was hardly large to begin with ! Sorry but I can't see a school in financial difficulty being prepared to buy you off.

Hi Thanks every one. All the facts on the finances are coming out now.

?In 2009 the accounts show a loss of £197,000, in 2010 a loss of £78,000 and we forecast a loss this year of £107,000. We haven?t been able to increase pupil numbers so we had no other options.?
Over four years the school incurred £400,000 losses and borrowed £900,000 ? including annual debt interest alone of between £40,000 and £41,000. The bank is no longer prepared to advance further funds.

this was in the local paper. It is becoming obvious that they new when my girls joined that they new. I am now enquiring about other school.

There were a lot of little girls viewing my dc's school a couple of weeks ago as another local school has just announced its funding has been pulled by the nuns and will close at the end of the academic year.

The year before another school closed and announced it was doing so on the last week of term after the other independent schools had all closed fo rhte summer.