Staff must be paid after sudden school closure, MP

Staff at a 135-year-old private school which closed suddenly during half term must be paid "what they're owed without delay", an MP has said.

Concept Education announced on its website on Tuesday that Leweston School, near Sherborne in Dorset, would "not reopen after half term and will close".

The BBC understands Concept Education, whose subsidiary bought the school in December 2025, said wages owed in October would not be paid.

Sarah Dyke MP, whose Glastonbury and Somerton constituency neighbours Sherborne, has joined Dorset MPs in calling for support.

The Catholic day and boarding school has a 46-acre campus with facilities including an indoor heated swimming pool, a theatre and a purpose-built equestrian centre.

Edward Morello, MP for West Dorset, previously told the BBC staff were given no warning and nearly 600 children had been left without school places.

The school's alumni include actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas and Baroness Dido Harding, who headed the NHS test and trace programme during the pandemic.

Concept Education has been approached for comment.

Writing on Facebook, Dyke also called on Concept Education to "give families their children's records straight away" and said she wanted local councils to fast track school places.

"I'm calling on Concept Education to pay staff what they're owed without delay, confirm whether insolvency practitioners have been appointed, and give families their children's records straight away," she said.

"I'm also calling on the government and local councils to fast track school places, protect support for pupils with SEND and those sitting exams, and make sure staff can quickly claim unpaid wages and redundancy pay.

"I've written to Concept Education and am working with neighbouring MPs to press ministers for urgent answers."

Hundreds of people - including families, staff and pupils - are expected to stage a peaceful protest outside the school on Monday from 08:00 GMT.

According to a letter sent to parents, seen by the BBC, displaced pupils can have a place within the Inspired Learning Group, such as Clayesmore School and Sunninghill Prep, from 2 November.

The letter, sent by Concept Education chief executive Hugh Dickinson, blamed the introduction of VAT on fees and a drop in pupil numbers as some of the reasons for the permanent closure.

The letter said: "We tried but in the end the financial headwinds were too great.

"We failed to turn it around, and we must now face the anger and devastation that this will bring to Leweston families.

We have spent every effort trying to close the cash shortfall caused by falling pupil numbers.

"Discussions continued right through October with people willing to support the school financially.

"Those discussions were serious and until very recently we believed they would succeed.

"They have not ended as we hoped, and without that funding the school cannot meet its obligations, including the salaries due to staff this week."

Amy Brinsden, from the National Education Union, said: "Staff are looking for answers.

"Less than a year ago, they were being told that a new partnership with Concept Education and the Catholic Schools' Trust would help secure the school's future.

"That leaves some very obvious questions about what changed, when concerns first emerged, and whether everything that could have been done to avoid this outcome was actually done."

The Catholic Schools Trust, a charity which holds the school's land and buildings, said in a statement the closure is "deeply concerning".

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