'This is not over': Desperate £1m bid as parents and students fight to save two East Midlands private schools
Parents and alumni rally to save Mount St Mary's and Barlborough Hall School after administration.
Parents and former pupils of Mount St Mary’s College and Barlborough Hall School have launched an urgent bid to save the two Derbyshire schools from closure after their trust entered administration last week.
Alumnus Jack Fitzsimmons reached out to Derby World in a plea for help. The group is aiming to raise £300,000 by midnight Tuesday to pay staff and cover immediate bills, with a wider goal of £1 million before the next payroll in August.
The schools, which together educated around 600 pupils, shut suddenly after the trust failed to meet its July payroll.
They cited mounting financial pressures, including the recent imposition of VAT on school fees and the loss of business rates relief, as key reasons for the collapse.
Mount St Mary's was founded by the Jesuits in 1842, and Barlborough Hall in 1939, but the schools have been an independent trust for nearly twenty years, and last week the governors were left with no choice but to vote to go into administration
Founded in 1842 and 1939 respectively, Mount St Mary’s and its prep school Barlborough Hall had operated as a charitable trust since 2004.
Parents are hoping that a successful fundraising effort will buy time to implement a longer-term recovery plan already in development.
Organisers say if the rescue fails, all donations will be refunded. The GoFundMe campaign is live at https://gofund.me/5bb3556f.