Families criticise 'betrayal of trust' at school

A parent of two children who attended a private school that announced its closure last week has said its leadership team has "dropped off the face of the earth".

Our Lady's Abingdon (OLA), in Oxfordshire, closed after 160 years citing "a range of economic pressures" including the introduction of VAT on private school fees.

In a post on social media, parent Eamon Devlin described the letter announcing the closure as a "masterclass of avoidance" and criticised a lack of support for families.

OLA has not responded to requests for comment.

Announcing its closure the school said it had been "under financial pressure for some time" and it had been left with "no viable way forward".

It added an increase in fees had become "unaffordable" for some parents and had led to a decline in pupil numbers.

At the time of its closure, the school had 368 pupils, despite a capacity of 540.

In its last accounts filed in August 2023, the school said it faced "challenges" and predicted budget deficits for the years ending August 2024 and 2025.

It said the school's governors acknowledged its circumstances represented a "material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt on [its] ability to continue as a going concern".

Teachers at the school went on strike in January in response to the governors' proposal to cap the school's financial contribution to a pension scheme.

At the time, the school said it was considering withdrawing from the scheme due to "unsustainable cost increases" but were "committed to resolving the dispute and maintaining the well-being and education of [its] students".