Independent school closing down

[UmbrellaHat]

Kingsmead School in The Wirral 🙁
Due to falling pupil roll and Covid.

Sad but it’s one of quite a few. Any schools that had financial difficulties will be struggling, especially if they were dependent on letting or boarding income. Is it your children’s school?

Schools which are teetering on viability are at risk. Schools that have too many parents who are worried about redundancy are at risk as are those with lots of overseas pupils and cannot make up the numbers with home pupils. There are likely to be quite a few closures.

As a school that takes DC from 2-18 with just over 200 pupils it must have been financially precarious for ages.

Anyone know of any other closures?

Ashdowne House has announced its closing too.

The minster school in York is closing too.

And Moreton Hall

this article says 30 independents are closing in UK

This is worrying, more strain on the already struggling state system. Some of these children may not even be able to get places in their oversubscribed local schools.

The minster school is very sad - it's been a school in some form or other for 1400 years. I believe it was heavily subsidised by York Minster, which has of course been hit by Covid too.

@ellie2201 not to be confused with the very successful Moreton Hall School in Shropshire though? There’s another in the south I think you are referring to?

@Zodlebud - no, Moreton Hall in Suffolk.

These children may well go to other private schools and could be a welcome addition. They are not necessarily going into state schools.

It may be that a thinning of the herd is a good thing - fewer but stronger schools. Terribly sad for the schools that close though.

Private schools have amalgamated in the past. It’s a recognition of the economic realities of the era.

Moreton Hall in Shropshire’s headmaster had to make an announcement as so many people contacted the school thinking it was closing. It isn’t. Feel bad for all the children and staff of those schools that are closing.

These children may well go to other private schools and could be a welcome addition. They are not necessarily going into state schools.

This^, although if parents are in financial distress they may not have a choice.

If local authorities are paying for any DC at Kingsmead then they will revise the statements and find other schools. A child with a statement gets priority. The resources might follow the DC so resources are not spread more thinly.

@My0My it may spread school SEN more thinly.

If they have a “statement” it won’t affect any receiving state school. If an LA is paying, they are paying vast sums and DCs will have a statement to access this sort of money. There would have to be detailed discussions about suitable schools though because placement would be very difficult.

Its Moreton Hall Prep School in Bury St Edmunds that is closing not Moreton Hall in Shropshire.

Article in Times on Tues or Weds saying lots of private schools have got heaps of new starters because families haven’t been coping with poor online provision from some state schools so are moving across.

We have 3 new children joining the class of 10 in September so I would agree with that on a personal level. I don’t know anyone who has left for financial reasons, though some have moved to other private schools because of unhappiness over provisions etc.

We had an email last week to say 5 teachers are being let go across the school - our nursery is going to be led by an old TA and no longer have a teacher, and they have slimmed down PE staff and extra support in classes.

St Mary’s Shaftesbury is the latest victim.