Parents’ shock and anger as closed school is put up for sale ‘fully equipped’
MUMS AND DADS FAILED IN ATTEMPT TO BUY INDEPENDENT BEFORE IT SHUT IN SUMMER, LEAVING OVER 250 PUPILS WITHOUT A PLACE
PARENTS are angry after a Derbyshire school which was closed by its owners, leaving more than 250 pupils and 100 staff without places and jobs, has gone on the market advertised as “a fully equipped school for sale”.
The latest development in the controversial closure of Ockbrook School has left parents of its former pupils angry and incredulous.
After only being given five weeks notice of closure in late May, a group of parents banded together to see if they could buy the school but they had to concede they had not been given enough time to get the finances into place and seal a deal.
As a result, the independent school, which was founded in 1799 by the Moravian Church, closed its doors on July 8, leaving everyone heartbroken and having to find new schools in time for the autumn term this month.
Many parents reported scrambling around to find alternative places for their children in the aftermath of the closure and said how upset their children aged three to 18 had been.
The Moravian Church, which still owns the site, has blamed the closure on financial problems and called in administrators at the end of July.
They in turn have placed the school on the market with property agent Hilco Global Real Estate Advisory. It is advertised as having 12 buildings on the 16.7-acre site.
They are available as a whole or in three lots. The three lots comprise of the main site, including Liley boarding house; the Grange and the Mount, including Mews cottage which is a boarding house.
It adds that the school and boarding facilities are “fully fitted with the equipment required to operate as a school. These assets include a variety of school and office furniture, an extensive range of IT and audio visual equipment, as well as a fitted commercial style kitchen to feed the students and staff.
“The various teaching blocks such as science labs, music, arts studios, sports and food technology all include the associated assets. The three boarding houses are fitted with domestic furniture and kitchen equipment, and the nursery school houses furniture, toys etc.
“Additional assets include the sports equipment and grounds care machinery, laundry equipment, and school nurses equipment.”
The school is situated within the Ockbrook Moravian Settlement Conservation Area and some of the buildings are Grade II listed.
The advertising also mentions that the buildings on two of the plots are situated in an area designated as village and housing development and this means that some “infilling and small-scale housing development may be permitted, subject to the council being satisfied as to details of design access and location.”
And subject to relevant planning consents, the school could also be suitable for other uses such as “a residential hotel, care home, outdoor centre or training centre”, it goes on to state.
Offers are invited for the leasehold or freehold of the whole school or lots, the school name and all intellectual property held by the school including its domain name.
Parents have taken to social media to express their anger since the sale of the site was announced. Many simply said “words fail me”, while others were more critical.
Michelle Davis wrote: “This is shocking, that the trustees now try to sell the school as a school, why on earth didn’t they do it when it was a working school.”
And Claire AJ added: “That makes me feel sick and very angry. The suffering my child has gone through…”.
It is intended that the assets will be sold by way of private treaty and the brochure for the school adds that “the vendors are not bound to accept the highest, or indeed any offer received”.
That makes me feel sick and very angry. The suffering my child has gone through.
Claire AJ