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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/21/amanda-barclays-special-needs-school-closes-due-to-pandemic-frederick-barclay
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| Amanda Barclay's special needs school closes due to pandemic | Amanda Barclay's special needs school closes due to pandemic |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Teacher contracts terminated immediately at UK school set up by Frederick Barclay’s daughter | Teacher contracts terminated immediately at UK school set up by Frederick Barclay’s daughter |
| The special needs school founded by Amanda Barclay, the daughter of Sir Frederick Barclay, one of the billionaire twins who own assets including the Daily Telegraph, has been permanently closed after running into financial difficulties due to coronavirus. | The special needs school founded by Amanda Barclay, the daughter of Sir Frederick Barclay, one of the billionaire twins who own assets including the Daily Telegraph, has been permanently closed after running into financial difficulties due to coronavirus. |
| Frederick Hugh House, in Kensington, London, was set up by Barclay a decade ago and caters for children up to the age of 16 who have special needs. School fees are £50,000 a year. | |
| Barclay, who is named as the proprietor and a trustee on the school’s website, has a teenage daughter with special needs. | Barclay, who is named as the proprietor and a trustee on the school’s website, has a teenage daughter with special needs. |
| The Guardian has seen a letter sent by Anne Marie Carrie, the chair of the school’s board of trustees, on Monday notifying staff of the immediate termination of their contracts. | The Guardian has seen a letter sent by Anne Marie Carrie, the chair of the school’s board of trustees, on Monday notifying staff of the immediate termination of their contracts. |
| “The board of trustees have been advised that due to the financial hardship incurred by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is no other viable option available to the charitable trust other than initiate the immediate permanent closure of the school and seek voluntary insolvency,” she said. “The board is therefore serving notice to terminate your employment with immediate effect.” | “The board of trustees have been advised that due to the financial hardship incurred by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is no other viable option available to the charitable trust other than initiate the immediate permanent closure of the school and seek voluntary insolvency,” she said. “The board is therefore serving notice to terminate your employment with immediate effect.” |
| Staff, who are only being paid until 20 April, had been providing digital lessons to the students since the coronavirus pandemic forced the nationwide closure of schools. | Staff, who are only being paid until 20 April, had been providing digital lessons to the students since the coronavirus pandemic forced the nationwide closure of schools. |
| “We wish to put on record our massive thanks to all of our staff, the proprietor, and our parents and children for making our school community the very special place that it has been and will always be, this is a very sad day for us all,” said Carrie. | “We wish to put on record our massive thanks to all of our staff, the proprietor, and our parents and children for making our school community the very special place that it has been and will always be, this is a very sad day for us all,” said Carrie. |
| According to the school’s website, Fredrick Hugh House was founded by, and benefits from the support of, the Frederick Hugh Trust, a company and registered charity set up by Barclay. It is understood that she has injected about £3m of personal money to help support the school in recent years. | |
| Financial filings at Companies House for the Frederick Hugh Trust state that the school relies upon donations and school fees. In 2018, the most recent publicly available accounts, school fees totalled £750,000, with donations at £330,000. | |
| The school has been operating on a rent-free basis, a benefit donated by the freeholder, Frederick Hugh House Ltd, which is registered in Jersey. | The school has been operating on a rent-free basis, a benefit donated by the freeholder, Frederick Hugh House Ltd, which is registered in Jersey. |
| “It is with sincere regret that today we announce the early closure of Frederick Hugh House school,” the school said in a statement. “Due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis the school no longer has a guaranteed income and has gone into administration. We will work with administrators to ensure a financial settlement for our dedicated staff.” | |
| The school, whose pupil numbers had fallen below 10, said it had been planning to close in July. | |
| Barclay was closely involved with running the Ritz hotel – which the family of Frederick’s brother, Sir David, sold last month – until being dismissed as a director in January. She and her father have threatened legal action against his brother’s side of the family after they discovered a listening device planted by David’s son, Alistair, in the conservatory of the hotel. | |
| The Barclay brothers’ multibillion-pound business empire is controlled by David and his sons Aidan and Howard. Their assets include the home delivery firm Yodel and the online retailer Very Group (previously known as Shop Direct and before that Littlewoods), which could also be sold. |