Business · Companies · 1 hr ago
Leweston School closes suddenly after running out of cash
Leweston School in Dorset closed immediately after running out of cash, days before the end of half-term.
The independent school, founded in 1891, had 577 pupils and 214 staff at its site near Sherborne.
The sudden closure disrupted pupils’ studies, including those preparing for GCSE and A-level exams, and left parents facing financial losses.
Staff are owed October wages, while some workers who lived on the grounds have had to find new homes as well as jobs.
The school’s closure came amid wider financial pressure on independent schools, which campaigners say has been worsened by VAT on private school fees.
The account also points to a mysterious takeover by a City investor, but does not explain its role in the school’s collapse.
Pupils and staff now face an uncertain future, and no next steps for the school are given.
Leweston School in Dorset announced its immediate closure last Tuesday after running out of cash.
The closure left 577 pupils without a school and disrupted the plans of students approaching mock GCSEs and A-levels.
The school had 214 staff, who were owed October wages, according to the article.
Some staff living on campus were left needing to find new homes, and some were without hot water or central heating.
The school was founded in 1891 and was based just outside Sherborne.
- Who
- Leweston School, an independent school in Dorset.
- What
- It closed immediately after running out of cash.
- When
- Last Tuesday, five days before the end of half-term.
- Where
- Just outside Sherborne, Dorset.
- Why
- It had run out of cash. The article also points to VAT and a takeover but gives no further details in the supplied text.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Leweston School was founded by nuns from Belgium.
The school announced that it would close immediately.
The campus was described as deserted, with unmarked homework and half-empty coffee mugs left behind.
- Pupils
- 577
- Staff
- 214
- Founded
- 1891
- Location
- Just outside Sherborne, Dorset
- Annual fees
- £45,000
- Length of closure notice
- Immediate closure announced five days before half-term ended
What people are saying
I literally got an email with a screen [capture] of a letter that wasn't even on letterhead,
It was poorly written, misspelt, all of it. Shambles doesn't begin to describe what this was.