Overview
- The school announced it will not reopen after the October half-term, a decision made public on Tuesday, October 27 and described by governors as unavoidable because funding talks collapsed.
- Every pupil has been offered a place at another Inspired Learning Group school from Monday, November 2, including Clayesmore and Sunninghill, as operators arrange immediate transfers.
- Local MPs say staff have not been paid this month and that prepaid fees will not be refunded, and they are coordinating support for families, nursery users and children with special educational needs.
- Operators and the school cited specific financial pressures behind the failure to secure rescue funding, naming the new VAT on private school fees, loss of business rates relief, higher employment costs and a long-term drop in boarding demand.
- Leweston was taken into new operational arrangements with Concept Education and the Catholic Schools’ Trust in late 2025 and registered for an HSBC loan in March 2026, a background that MPs say will be part of inquiries into how the closure was handled.