Abbotsholme School is due to close on 22 June after its new owners reviewed the finances of the independent day and boarding school near Rocester in Staffordshire. Staff were told on Thursday that they would not receive their May salaries and that June wages would also not be paid.
The closure date lands in the middle of term, and that is why parents, pupils and teachers are searching for answers now. Teachers at the school said they had already gone without pay in May, while staff were told to keep working until 22 June so pupils could be supported through the final weeks of term.
Tony Costigan told parents in a letter that the financial challenges facing the school were significantly greater than originally understood. Abbotsholme 2026 Limited said it had entered the purchase with the intention of securing the school's long-term future, and the school was said at the time of sale to be continuing and to be due significant capital investment.
That is what makes the speed of the collapse so stark. Charlotte Gallimore said a number of interested parties came forward after Achieve Education decided to sell Abbotsholme, and said it had been understood at the point of sale that the school would carry on operating while investment was made to improve facilities and secure its future. Instead, staff were told days later that the school would close and that neither May nor June salaries would be paid.
Costigan said the school would remain fully open until 22 June, and that his immediate priority was to ensure pupils, particularly those sitting exams, were able to finish their studies with the minimum possible disruption. What happens after that date is the unanswered part of the story: the school is set to shut its doors, but the question of staff pay and the next step for families has not been resolved.
