Cheshire Independent Issue 216

MACCLESFIELD • TYTHERINGTON • BOLLINGTON ALDERLEY EDGE • PRESTBURY • WILMSLOW • HANDFORTH • POYNTON • BRAMHALL • DISLEY • ALSAGER • BIDDULPH • CONGLETON • SANDBACH ISSUE 216 FREE CHESHIRE FREE YOUR LOCAL GOOD NEWS-PAPER FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @CheshireIndy www.independentnewspapers.co.uk Looking for Flooring Inspiration? Let us help you find the perfect flooring for your home. With great advice, home styling, measure and planning service, plus quality fitting of top brands and designs, youwill be glad you did . Visit our showroom: Tuesday to Saturday or call 01260 224445 for a private appointment Thornycroft Farm, Pexhill Road, Siddington, Cheshire SK11 9JN ● Modern, Traditional & Luxury Carpets ● Natural Wood Flooring ● Laminate Flooring ● Stair Runners & Rods ● Luxury Vinyl Tiles ● Bespoke Rugs & Runners PARENTS are demanding answers over the sudden closure of Alderley Edge School for Girls. Parents and pupils were left devastated after the pri- vate school closed down for good, weeks earlier than ini- tially announced. In an email sent out to all parents – just as campaigners were set to attend a meeting over the closure with Tatton MP Esther McVey – the school said it was closing immedi- ately. It blamed parent pro- tests for the closure, saying it had made the place ‘unsafe’. Campaigners who have been fighting to keep the school open say ‘there are so many unanswered ques- tions’ and have criticised the way it has been handled, leaving children without a school to attend and without the chance to say goodbye to teachers and friends. ‘WE WANT ANSWERS’ – PARENTS Charity Commission ‘assessing information’ Families are devastated after the sudden closure of Alderley Edge School for Girls (Image: Google Earth) When it first announced plans to close, the school cited the government’s introduction of VAT on private school fees, falling numbers and a slowing birth rate in the area as rea- sons for it ‘no longer consid- ered financially sustainable’. Yet a Parent Rescue Group, led by eight parents, said it had secured a potential £4m of funding to try and save the school. Their proposals were pushed back as being non-vi- able as a business plan, with the school citing a number of reasons including that it ‘depends on unconfirmed funding, a prep school only model from September 2026’; ‘the sale of school assets’; and decisions like this, we always expect trustees to have care- fully considered what action is in the best interests of the charity involved. “Setting out how and why such decisions were made is particularly important where it is likely that others will disagree with the trustees’ decision. We can confirm, in line with our guidance, the charity has reported this matter to us.” The opening of a compliance case like this is not a finding of wrongdoing and the Charities Commission stressed it had ‘not launched a statutory inquiry at this time’. The school email sent out said the sudden closure was ‘for health and safety reasons’ as the school claimed that ongoing protests by parents meant they could no longer guarantee the safety of staff, pupils and parents on site. They said the decision was taken after risk assessments reviews had taken place. ‘ambitious growth in pupil numbers’. Amid claims school governors have ‘failing to engage’ with parents – a claim echoed by Ms McVey – parents say there are key questions that need answering. “Par- ents are no longer simply asking why the school closed. They are asking whether it needed to close at all,” said dad Gary Chaplin, part of the Parent Rescue Group whose 17-year-old daughter Ava attends AESG. In a QandA sent out by the Cheshire school following the closure announcement, it made it clear that if pupils were to leave this term, they would not be refunded their fees. It is unclear whether the same will apply with the school enforcing the closure, but in an email it said ‘a sep- arate communication will be provided next week regarding any queries relating to parent fees and return of deposits’. The Charities Commis- sion has confirmed that it is ‘assessing information’ relat- ing to the closure. A spokes- person said: “When a charity makes the difficult decision to close a school that people rely on it can be deeply disappoint- ing and concerning to parents and pupils alike. “We are currently assessing information relating to the clo- sure of Alderley Edge School for Girls as part of a regula- tory compliance case to deter- mine any action or response. In making significant