Parents shocked by sudden private school closure

Parents and staff at a private school were left "devastated" and shocked after the school permanently closed with just 30 minutes' notice.

King's House Moorlands in Luton sent an email to parents at 16:30 GMT on Thursday informing them that the school would shut its doors for good at 17:00 the same day.

It blamed an "unsustainable financial burden" for the closure but said the nursery and early-years part of the school would remain open.

Robbie Das, whose son is in Year 10, said: "It's just completely out of the blue, everyone was crying, absolutely devastated, yesterday when they found out the news."

His son is due to sit part of his GCSE English exam in a few weeks, but there has been no detail on whether that will still take place.

Das continued: "All we've got is questions rather than any answers at all, and the teachers, all of the fantastic teachers that work there, are all in the same boat as the parents."

The letter to parents, seen by the BBC, continued: "A challenging economic backdrop and tax pressures on independent schools has seen numbers fall up and down the country.

"In our case, a growing number of parents have, over the past few months, struggled to pay fees.

"The amount owing to the school has therefore grown over this period, all of which has placed an unsustainable financial burden on King's House Moorlands."

Das noted that because the news arrived on a Thursday evening, parents were left "flying by the seat of their pants," unable to reach the council before offices closed.

The school said it had been communicating with the local authority to secure alternative places for students.

In a statement it said: "We have worked tirelessly over the past months to try to avoid this outcome and to find a solution to enable the school to continue as a going concern but have been unable to do this."

Luton Borough Council has also been approached for comment.

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