Administrators ‘willing to listen’?
Beaconhurst campaign is hopeful
Campaigners battling to save Beaconhurst School in Bridge of Allan say administrators brought in to oversee its finances appear “willing to listen”.
Parents, staff and former pupils have been behind a campaign to keep the school open since governors announced the senior school was being axed and merged with Crieff independent school Morrison’s Academy just days before the summer break.
Just a week later the board then dropped another bombshell by announcing the private school’s nursery and junior departments were also to shut.
Since then campaigners have raised more than £40,000 in online pledges in a bid to “Save Beaconhurst”.
Matters became even more complex last week when the governors called in administrators.
Graham Frost and Toby Underwood from PwC (Pricewaterhouse Cooper) were appointed joint administrators of Beaconhurst School on July 11.
The majority of teaching and support staff - 62 of them - have been made redundant with 11 staff members retained to help with summer activities and to assist parents in regard to pupil records, exam results and transfers to other schools.
Mr Frost said: “With Beaconhurst School reliant on student fees, the reduction in senior school pupil numbers for the forthcoming 2018/19 academic year left the school facing a significant funding gap.
“Consequently the governors were left with no option other than to appoint administrators.
“Our immediate priority is to assist pupils, parents and staff in the current difficult circumstances. The remaining staff will continue to be paid to ensure that summer activities for Beaconhurst pupils are delivered without disruption, where possible, including exam result consultation and Duke of Edinburgh expeditions.”
Campaigners on The Beaconhurst Family Facebook page posted this week: “There IS still a fight ongoing, to find a solution that saves the school. Please bear with us - it’s a long process.”
The ideal scenario would be for a major investor to come on board to at least clear debts owed to two major creditors, paving the way for the campaigners to go back to the drawing board and provide a fresh start for the school in some form.
However, in the event that does not happen, a number of options are still said to be under consideration.
One campaigner, who did not wish to be named, said: “The administrators do seem willing to listen. They have a legal responsibility to keep a business operating where possible. Whether we can be part of that is difficult to say just yet.
“The timing (of the closure announcements) was difficult. Things happened very quickly and unexpectedly and then people were going on summer holidays, but there is still a lot of support for keeping the school open somehow. The situation cannot obviously go on forever as that would be unfair to everyone, particularly the pupils, and there has to be certainty at some point, but at the moment there are still a number of scenarios being looked at. There are a core group of parents looking at options. All is not lost.”
There has been a school on the site of Beaconhurst since 1919 when the Beacon School for Girls was established. In 1976, this school merged with nearby boys’ school Beaconhurst Grange.