Selling an Independent School???

[silentbrown]

This is a new one to me: Our daughter's school (small independent, charitable status) has just been "sold" to what appears to be a city investment group, How on earth does that work? What happens to its charitable status, and what's the role of governors going forward?

I'm expecting that the new owners are in it for the $$$, so fees are only going to go in one direction.

[KevinCamaroSS]

It may just be the buildings on a lease-back arrangement?

[AyBee]

Fees up, investment down, class sizes increasing unfortunately. Has happened to a few schools in Cambridge that I know of - where's the school?

[silentbrown]

AyBee said:

Fees up, investment down, class sizes increasing unfortunately. Has happened to a few schools in Cambridge that I know of - where's the school?

Herefordshire. Pupil numbers have been low for a couple of years. Looks like the "real" new owners are probably Chinese, but with a London investment firm fronting it...

[drfrank]

In my part of the world, education and healthcare are HUGE business. Massive investment from big companies aiming to make money, pure and simple. The schools are poor by UK standards too.

[worsy]

silentbrown said:

AyBee said:

Fees up, investment down, class sizes increasing unfortunately. Has happened to a few schools in Cambridge that I know of - where's the school?

Herefordshire. Pupil numbers have been low for a couple of years. Looks like the "real" new owners are probably Chinese, but with a London investment firm fronting it...

One near us went the same way (Shropshire). The Chinese want to send their kids to a British school so they tends to put more bursaries out for the natives to encourage them in.

[PistonBroker]

The private school over my back fence appears to be chock-full of Chinese so not a great surprise that they'd want to invest, I guess.

[lost in espace]

Our local private is a prime housing location, suspect its recent sale was for redevelopment.

[williaa68]

silentbrown said:

This is a new one to me: Our daughter's school (small independent, charitable status) has just been "sold" to what appears to be a city investment group, How on earth does that work? What happens to its charitable status, and what's the role of governors going forward?

I'm expecting that the new owners are in it for the $$$, so fees are only going to go in one direction.

They can only put the fees up if the academic results justify it but if the results are good and the fees below comparable schools then a rise is on the cards for sure. When we were in Switzerland the fees for the international primary school, which was definitely a "for profit" model, were >£20,000 a year!

[easytiger123]

worsy said:

silentbrown said:

AyBee said:

Fees up, investment down, class sizes increasing unfortunately. Has happened to a few schools in Cambridge that I know of - where's the school?

Herefordshire. Pupil numbers have been low for a couple of years. Looks like the "real" new owners are probably Chinese, but with a London investment firm fronting it...

One near us went the same way (Shropshire). The Chinese want to send their kids to a British school so they tends to put more bursaries out for the natives to encourage them in.

It's a trend that will continue. Many small (and some not so small) rural private schools have seen their boarding numbers decline for 20+ years and the percentage of non-British, largely Chinese, boarders increase to the point where they have become essentially day schools with international boarders. Makes economic sense to abandon any pretence of being a boarding choice for British parents (who generally don't want their child to be heavily outnumbered by Johnny foreigner) and focus on growing the international element unencumbered by the desire to keep up appearances. Doesn't mean they are bad schools and it's hard to see many of them surviving without doing this.

[silentbrown]

worsy said:

One near us went the same way (Shropshire). The Chinese want to send their kids to a British school so they tends to put more bursaries out for the natives to encourage them in.

Adcote, I guess? (my google-fu is good today )

Looks like they've had a lot of investment, which can't be a bad thing.

[worsy]

silentbrown said:

Adcote, I guess? (my google-fu is good today )

Looks like they've had a lot of investment, which can't be a bad thing.