OLA Abingdon

[Beetlemamma]

Can any parents who have children at OLA Abingdon, shed any light on the current head leaving the school? I have been told he is moving on. My daughter is registered, to hopefully, attend in September 2025. I have also heard the school is financially unstable!! Please help, seriously worried mother!!!

Shame the school has to announce closure on social media and not even have the decency to send an email to parents. School destroyed by terrible governance and appalling management.

When they got rid of Mr Oliver five years ago as head the rot set in and the governors and COO ran the place into the ground. The appalling new head drove staff and parents away. Their statement blames the VAT etc and whilst this may have been a contributing factor, the school was badly run for the last 5yrs and this made it impossible to survive. Before that regime the school had no borrowings and was stable. Such a tragedy for the staff and pupils who have to scramble for jobs and school places. 160 yrs of teaching and history gone.

This is indeed very sad news for the students, families and staff involved.

A group of capable people was involved in trying to save the school and were rebuffed. This group should not be confused with the mismanagement that has led to this sad demise and closure. The new group is working hard to re-open the school in the future.

While I’m sure this is true, unfortunately Mr Oliver didn’t have a seamless transition when he started and a lot of people think that is when it all started to free fall. Mrs Redwich who left in 2012 was outstanding and it seemed a rushed appointment of the new head and then it was such a shame to hear the same thing happened again with internal deputy heads being overlooked and then moving on to better things. Mr Oliver took the school out of the 21st century rather than moving forward.

I was there for both and Ms Renwick was not all that great - very inexperienced. Anyway it’s the past and if you just look at the finances, the trouble started with the governors and COO about 6 yrs ago and the finances in the end are the reason it closed.

Very true!

how will the year 11 and 13s be sorted?

Well, Wychwood are on it. They’ve got a Q&A front and centre on the website offering OLA kids spaces and to honour OLA fees
for a year.

Aren’t the OLA fees actually higher than Wychwoods anyway? 😂

Yes that's how come I know about it.

It must be devastating for the pupils particularly those with SEN. It's making me very nervous as DD has one more year before we move her to mainstream and her school has made a loss last year but then are putting lots in place.

I don’t think so. They were definitely higher at WW when I looked.

How sad. Another one bites the dust. It seems their roll was much lower than it should have been so problems before introduction of VAT perhaps. I hope the children all find somewhere else- so unsettling for them all and families with new term under a month away.
Where will be next?

Such a terrible shame for the pupils, staff and their families, this is a dreadful turn of events, my heart goes out to them.

My son was there for several years under Messrs Gibbons and Elturk. My other kids were at different local schools, and in my (limited) experience this was the most appallingly badly run school.

Staff were amazing throughout it all though, no thanks to those in charge. This is not really much to do with VAT or NI as far as I can see, I think it's just mismanagement and it probably goes further back than the most recent leadership. Their published accounts have always looked dodgy, but questions asked at the time were not met with especially helpful responses!

VAT is a useful excuse but the the real reason is mismanagement of the school
since Mr Oliver left, with massive staff turnover that has led to many parents withdrawing their kids. That is why we did. We are now paying higher fees, so it’s not about VAT.
How convenient that the former chair of governors lives now in Australia. The overpaid COO….hope he doesn’t go on to ruin any more schools. Shame on them.

Some of the other local private schools in the area will be very pleased with the opportunity to expand their own take up for 2025 I would imagine.

100% poor management. As soon as that little headmaster arrived ( with a demonstrable track record of school improvement ( see LinkedIn ) ) and forced nearly all the good teachers out the school it went downhill rapidly. Student numbers and quality of education plummeted, and quite rightly many looked elsewhere. I’m sure the bursar on >100k a year and the headmaster who I heard has been on full paid leave for the last six months will not have suffered too financially. Unlike the families and staff that have been monumentally shafted. Off to the next fleecing project? Tragic for the students, families and staff there. Shame on you Karian and Gibbons.

Maybe some but decent ones are full & unlikely to want to take on pupils midway through A level or GCSEs.
Can’t believe what little notice they gave.

I worked there under Mr Oliver and it was clear there were problems then. The bursar at that time committed suicide in a horrific way which was all swept under the carpet. May have been a coincidence but also perhaps a sign of financial problems back then. The school at that time had some fantastic longstanding staff ( now all left) which was what kept it going. The management was pretty terrible the whole time I worked there and it sounds like it got much worse. I feel so sorry for all those who are now desperately trying to find a new school place. They must surely have had indication that this was going to happen and have been able to give more notice

A friend works in the kitchens and only found out on our local fb group when someone shared it. Appalling

Would be keen to have further info on Tudor hall. How do you know this?

vs. not BA!

OLA/OLC has always been the poor cousin of the private school world (and I say that as an ex pupil). The fact they closed Reception and KS1 under very similar circumstances approx 5 years ago says a lot.

I feel for all affected. I know that the other local secondaries have been very helpful, which is good.

Just seen Rendcomb College are offering meetings with parents as well so hopefully that will help some parents - especially those for Yr11 and Yr13 who need to finish their exams.