Avon House Preparatory School in Epping Forest has closed permanently after more than 100 years, with administrators appointed on August 7. The school will not reopen in September for the new academic year.
Closure announced in letter to parents
A letter was sent to parents and carers on August 4 informing them of the closure. The school's website states: "It is with much sadness that we are announcing the closure of the school with immediate effect."
The school, founded over 100 years ago as Essex House, was renamed in the early 1950s and has been on its current site since 1965. It educated children from age three to year six, with yearly fees of up to £17,895 per child.
Financial pressures cited
The statement on the website continues: "We have explored a number of options to try and save the school from closure but in recent days it became obvious that was not meant to be. The school has struggled with financial pressures including the introduction of VAT on school fees and the rise in NI and pension costs."
Parents were informed: "Despite every effort to secure a sustainable future for the school, including exploring opportunities for investment, merger and sale, it has not been possible to find a financially viable way forward," reports EssexLive.
Administrators appointed
Philip James Watkins and Philip Lewis Armstrong, both of FRP Advisory Trading Limited, were appointed administrators on August 7. The latest publicly available accounts, up until August 2024, show the school had £1,788,442 in amounts falling due within one year.
Avon House is not the first private school to close due to VAT on school fees. Stoke College, in Stoke-by-Clare, Suffolk, which operated as a school since 1954, shut for the final time on July 1.
