Time runs out for parents fighting to stop closure of St Margaret's

Published on Tuesday 22 June 2010 21:07

LAST-DITCH talks to save a private school were due to be held today after a task force of parents failed to raise at least £2 million for a rescue package.

A consortium of ten families hoping to take over the running of St Margaret's, in the Newington area of Edinburgh, admitted it had failed to attract any white-knight figures by the time a deadline they had set passed at 5pm yesterday.

However, the campaigners insisted they were not giving up hope that some parts of the school could remain open after the last day of term on 29 June as it emerged that KPMG, the liquidators handling the assets of St Margaret's, had received bids from potential investors.

It is thought the nursery stands the best chance of surviving under the existing name, although other private-sector operators are understood to be interested in the school, with the educational charity Montessori among those linked to the site.

One insider said last night: "Taking over the entire school simply does not look like a viable proposition.

"We have tried our best to attract a major investor, but it is a serious sum of money to raise at such short notice.

"The secondary school is the main financial headache, because of the high running costs and the fact that so many pupils have found alternative places.

"It may be that the nursery, and possibly the junior school, can be saved, and KPMG will be asked to give us a bit more time.

"However, the problem may be the issue over the school owing so much to the taxman and the fact that so much debt has been racked up."

The business consortium last night said it was still exploring proposals to take over the running of the school – despite admitting last week that it had been warned by KPMG that it would have to raise more than 2m.

The consortium had proposed paying off the school's creditors and creating a trust which would have seen parents appointed to a new board of governors.

HM Revenue and Customs and the Royal Bank of Scotland are understood to be the major creditors left out of pocket after the school's governors called in liquidators earlier this month.

About 140 jobs will be lost if the whole school is closed down.

Dozens of parents will be left out of pocket after paying up to 10,000 per pupil in advance fees for the next academic year. School uniform shops in the city are thought to have been left with about 30,000 worth of stock.

It emerged earlier this week that only about 100,000 had been banked in donations to the consortium's campaign, despite pleas for former pupils and "friends" of the school to come forward with investment.

Val Devlin, a spokeswoman for the St Margaret's Parents and Friends Association, said: "We haven't made a final decision to end the campaign yet. There are some proposals we are still looking at and we'll be outlining these to KPMG."