Closed private school axes jobs

Newlands School went into administration after talks failed

Two hundred staff members are being made redundant at an independent school which has gone into administration.

Newlands School in Seaford, Sussex, announced on Monday that it was closing, leaving about 450 pupils without a place after the Easter break.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that teachers had not been paid for a month.

Angela Turner, from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said the union was shocked and would be seeking to ensure members received all pay owing.

Three and a half weeks ago, we felt that there wasn't an immediate problem Oliver Price

BBC South East Today was told that teachers' pensions had also not been paid since December.

Two colleges have stepped in to offer "extraordinary" places to students who are due to sit GCSE and A Level exams this summer.

And on Tuesday night, a meeting was being held at St Bede's School, East Sussex, to discuss how many extra students could be taken in after the Easter holidays.

'Bad year'

In a further interview on Tuesday, head teacher Oliver Price said: "Three and a half weeks ago, we felt that there wasn't an immediate problem about closure.

"Another bank had offered to take the schools finances on but that couldn't be done in time and we were hastened to a very quick closure, very, very fast."

He said the school had "a bad year last year" due to the increase in national insurance contributions and teachers' pensions costs imposed by government.

And he also said the school had found parents had "less spending money" to spend on private education.