PARENTS of pupils at a closure-threatened private school have come up with a financial rescue package to secure its future.
Families from Fernhill School, on the outskirts of Glasgow, have pledged hundreds of thousands of pounds to tide the school over in the short term and put it on a firmer financial footing for the future.
The eleventh-hour move comes after a meeting between parents and the board on Tuesday evening at which it was announced that Fernhill had been running at a loss and the board had opened discussions with administrators.
Following the meeting, a group of parents began securing pledges to raise money to keep the school afloat and now say they have secured a "significant six-figure sum" that will allow it to operate for up to five years.
The group intends to establish a new board of governors with the expertise to run the school as a viable business.
Fernhill, one of the country's leading Catholic private schools, is based in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, and has some 230 pupils and about 40 staff.
A statement from the board said: "We are delighted to be in the position to announce the secured future of Fernhill. A plan has been put in place which will not only save the school from administration, but will also provide a platform for investment in the school's future.
"This has been possible by the swift response of parents who have secured pledges for a six-figure sum to avert the prospect of administration and as a means of refinancing the business.
"The reaction of the parents, teachers and pupils, when the school's future was threatened was overwhelming and is testament to the strength of our community and the quality of education we offer. We look forward to continuing to offer a fantastic education to our pupils in a close and friendly environment and to welcoming new pupils next year."
Parents involved in the rescue plan said it would not have been possible without the goodwill of governors Tony and Kathleen Boswell, who have invested significant sums of money in recent years and therefore have security over the land and buildings.
The pair have agreed to honour existing financial pledges and to allow the school to operate from the premises rent-free for the next five years to give the rescue plan every chance to succeed. Teachers have also agreed to a pay freeze.
Parents were delighted with the unexpected development, with Denise Smith saying: "My 12-year-old and I are in tears together. We are so grateful. Thanks to all who have made this possible and especially the wonderful, inspirational staff."
Valerie Mcghie added: "Lots of emotional tears being shed right now. Well done to those who have made this possible."
An indication of the difficulties facing Fernhill first surfaced in 2011 when the governors took a decision to freeze the fees for two years - although last year fees were raised above the level of inflation and are now £9300-a-year for a senior day pupil.
In 2013, the school introduced a plan to allow families to spread the cost of fees over 10 years to make them more affordable.
Fernhill began as a primary for girls in 1953 run by the Sisters of Notre Dame and was earmarked for closure in 1971. A committee of parents was formed to save the school and the current establishment opened the following year.
A secondary department was opened in 1973 and plans to make the school fully co-educational were announced in 2013.
The last Scottish private school to close due to financial difficulties was St Margaret's in Edinburgh, which called in receivers in 2010.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article