A group of parents of a recently closed prep school have lodged a formal complaint with the Charity Commission, which is assessing the concerns.
As reported by BBC News, the complaint was filed against education charity Uppingham School Group, which ran Maidwell Hall in Northamptonshire from 2022 until it closed in July.
It alleges that a decision to close the school in the middle of last year was not communicated to parents until January this year.
But Uppingham School Group said the decision to close the school was taken on 30 November 2024 and denies the suggestion it was taken at an earlier date.
It said when parents were informed in January, Uppingham trustees “met with the parent group on several occasions to provide significant support and advice to them regarding what a successful proposal would need to cover”.
The parent group questioned why a parents’ rescue bid backed by the David Ross Educational Trust was rejected.
Uppingham continued to defend its decision and said the parents’ proposed rescue bid had “significant gaps” which underestimated the school’s expenditure by several millions and other issues.
‘Significantly loss-making’
A spokesperson for the parents’ group told BBC News: “During the last seven months, it has become evident that there is a case to answer by Uppingham.
“We believe it is only right and proper that this is thoroughly investigated by the commission.”
Uppingham said while pupil numbers had increased and it had invested in the school, it “remained significantly loss-making, with no viable path to break even”.
It said the school faced further financial pressure from the introduction of VAT on private school fees and an increase to employers’ national insurance contributions.
Uppingham added that the school “faced almost certain insolvency” in 2022 if it had not rescued it and repaid a “six-figure bank loan”.
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We are assessing concerns raised with us about Uppingham School to determine any next steps.
“In line with our guidance, Uppingham School promptly reported the closure of Maidwell School to us.”
A separate police investigation by Northamptonshire Police into Earl Spencer’s allegations of physical and sexual abuse at the school in the 1970s is ongoing.
Maidwell Hall was one of the leading prep schools in the UK and was founded in 1911. It was an independent school for four to 13-year-old boys and girls and offered boarding.
Previous pupils include Spencer, former poet laureate Andrew Motion and writer and restaurant critic William Sitwell.
