ONE of Glasgow's best-known independent schools is being forced to close four months after a blaze caused serious damage.
A petition has been presented to Glasgow Sheriff Court to wind up Glasgow Steiner School Ltd and Paul Dounis and Kenneth Pattullo, of Begbies Traynor, have been appointed joint provisional liquidators.
The architecturally significant building was the last school to be designed by Scottish Edwardian architect Sir John James Burnet and dates back to 1876. It had been hoped the shell structure could be retained although at the time of the fire it was feared the internal fabric of the building was lost.
In the wake of the fire it was estimated a restoration project would cost several million pounds and parents had been looking at ways to raise money for any costs above those covered by the insurance.
The Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship, of which the Glasgow establishment was affiliated, said in a note on their website: "(It is) with great sadness (that) we announce the closure of the Glasgow Steiner School after 25 years.
"Unfortunately they were unable to recover from the fire that gutted the school. We hope in time there will be a new Steiner school in the area."
Firefighters had to work through the night to contain the blaze at the Victorian building in March.
A total of 65 children – aged between three and 12 – and 20 staff made their way out of the Lumsden Street school as the fire alarm sounded.
In the wake of the blaze, the school had to hold its end-of-term school assembly in Kelvingrove Park. The managers then struck a deal with West George College to operate from a floor of the old Kelvinhaugh Primary School building it had bought.
"The important thing for us was to keep the children all together," said school manager Kathryn Turner a week after the fire.
"The Steiner community is so important and we wanted to keep that community together. The offer from the college has allowed us to do that. The community support has been overwhelming. As a school we're a community, but this has really cemented us in the wider community."
The fire broke out during morning break on March 26. A tower on the roof collapsed into the building and burning debris landed on cars parked nearby.
Around 55 firefighters were brought in to tackle the blaze which is believed to have started in a first-floor classroom.
Glasgow Steiner School was the youngest of four Steiner Schools in Scotland, and is one of 31 "sister" schools in the UK.
It moved to Yorkhill in 1993 and works on a "holistic approach", with teachers adapting the curriculum to meet the needs of pupils.
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