By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-03-27 23:01:06 | Updated at 2025-03-31 00:13:00
3 days ago
Parents at a £36,000-per-year private school have been left stunned after being given just two days' notice of its closure.
Moorland School in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, will shut for good on Friday, families were told via email - on Wednesday evening.
The announcement came without warning, leaving parents scrambling to find alternative arrangements for their children.
One mother, whose 14-year-old son attends the school, told the Mail the situation was "shambolic".
Headteacher Jonathan Harrison said the move 'had been the hardest decision of my life'
MOORLAND SCHOOL
"It was obvious from looking at their accounts online, which are terrible, that they were in trouble," she said.
"They have known for a long time, since last year, so to give parents two days' notice that the school is going to shut is diabolical."
Parents were blindsided by the announcement, with some having meetings cancelled just hours before the fateful email arrived.
In the email, proprietor and executive headteacher Jonathan Harrison apologised for the short notice, and said closing the school "had been the hardest decision of my life".
He claimed they had "looked strongly" into keeping the school open until July but concluded it was "just not economically viable".
Moorland School will shut its doors on Friday, March 28
MOORLAND SCHOOL
Harrison laid the blame at Labour's door - with the Government having stripped private schools of their VAT-exempt status in January
PA
However, Moorland was also stripped of its licence to enter students for GCSEs, and was forced to ask a neighbouring school to allow its Year 11 pupils to sit their exams there.
Following the liquidation, all staff were made redundant and asked to reapply for their jobs last July.
At least one staff member was awarded £7,000 at an employment tribunal in January after errors in the school's handling of the process.
An inspection in September also warned that "standards relating to leadership, management and governance were not being met."
When contacted by the Mail, Harrison's email returned an automatic reply saying he had "retired from the teaching profession" and resigned as director.
