The page 3 article in this week's TES spells it out:

Private schools that have announced closure this year

• Morley Hall Preparatory Derbyshire
• Windmill House, Leicestershire
• Arley House, Nottinghamshire
• Alcuin, West Yorkshire
• St Margaret’s, West Sussex
• Baston, Kent
• Belcanto London Academy Theatre, London
• Attenborough Prep, Nottinghamshire
• Arundale, West Sussex

http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6027525

Any of you know anything about any of these schools?  Worse still - any of you in one of them?

I was going to say that you should add St Dominics to the list.  Most children have already left, several have joined my daughter's school with most of the rest joining another nearby prep.

From talking to one of these parents it all came as a huge shock, they were only told a week before the end of term, and the week after all the other local preps had finished for summer.

It's sadly nothing new - the independent school I worked in at Newcastle was one of a fewthat announced closure a good few years ago now - we were essentially decimated by the expansion downward in the age ranges  of the big senior schools to the point where the decision was made to pull the plug.

I feel for those staff working in these schools - I know in my own case things became a nightmare with unions having to be involved to get the correct amounts of money we were owed etc... the whole thing was a mess and incredibly badly handled.

Funnily enough, despite management denials, the building was very rapidly sold for executive flats - which is what had been on the parental rumour mill all along.

Although it's 'historic' information, in that it relates to the previous accounting period, don't forget that staff and parents can gain some idea of a school's financial strength by looking on the Charity Commissioners' website (providing the school is a registered educational charity). All registered charities above a certain size have to lodge their accounts with the Commissioners and they are published on the website. Don't just look at the graphs at the beginning though - a lot of information is contained in the trustees' report and the actual figures (overdrafts etc). Most schools will be submitting their accounts for the last academic year during the next month or two. 

This one may be the first this year:

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Private-school-forced-to-shut.6046571.jp

The RBS seem to have behaved in a paticularly shabby way too....