Private schools fear going bust after parents seek refunds

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PRIVATE school parents are demanding fee refunds, amid rising concern that some institutions could go bankrupt in the next few months.

Schools such as Eton, which charges £42,500-a-year, and Uppingham will survive the crisis thanks to long waiting lists and both have chosen to give parents a partial refund for this year’s fees.

Many other leading private schools have so far resisted pressure to reduce or refund fees for this academic year.

Schools were told to shut their doors nine days ago and many now offer online classes and learning resources.

But, with private schools now billing for the summer term, a source on the finance committee of one of the country’s leading public schools said: “The many people who struggle to pay school fees will be under pressure. They are saying, ‘hang on, you can’t ask me to write a cheque for £12,000 or £13,000 if they are not even there’.” The source added that a major strain on private schools was that the overseas student market is “literally about to collapse”.

The Independent Schools’ Bursars Association, which represents bursars at over 1,000 private schools in the UK and overseas, has written to insurers demanding that they should pay out.

The insurers have told some private schools that “business interruption” insurance does not apply because Covid-19 is not one of their specified diseases, but ISBA lawyers are arguing that they should be covered under “prevention of access” extensions.