School gates shut for the last time as bank decision bites

AFTER more than a century of educating girls in Sheffield a private school has closed its doors for the last time.

Staff and pupils at Brantwood Independent School for Girls, in Nether Edge, were given just nine days’ notice of the closure after the Royal Bank of Scotland refused to prop up the business any longer.

The school had been in financial diffiulties for some time and had loans with RBS based on the value of the building and grounds, which were initially estimated at 1m.

However, a new valuation by RBS put the value of the property at 400,000 less than that, and the bank said it was only prepared to lend Brantwood money based on the revised figure.

As a result, the school has closed its doors for the final time, despite a group of parents working together to come up with a “rescue package”.

John Boyington, chairman of the governors at Brantwood School and father of a Year 11 pupil there, said: “We currently have only 600,000 of guaranteed funding and are aware that we do not therefore have any available funds to open the school immediately after the half-term holiday.

“Individual governors carry personal liability for any commitment to trade in an insolvent position and are not prepared to take that risk on the basis of current information available.”

Mr Boyington added that a group of parents intends to put a firm proposal to the governors by Wednesday, but until then there was no alternative but to close the school as planned.

Headteacher Lynn Marriott said around half of the 128 pupils, aged between three and 16, had already found places at other independent schools in the city.

Those students who do not plan to go to another private school will be offered places at state schools by Sheffield Council.

A spokesman for RBS stressed that the decision to close the school had been taken by the governors, not the bank.

They added: “Ultimately the viability of the business is the crucial factor in making any lending decision, not the value of the property.

“In November 2009 the governors acknowledged the business was no longer viable in the long term, and made the decision to close the school – not the bank.”