Swaminarayan School to close its gates in 2020

by KEERTHI MOHAN

NORTH LONDON FAITH SCHOOL ‘STRUGGLED’ TO RECRUIT TEACHERS

NORTH London’s Swaminarayan School, an inde­pendent faith school, will be closing its doors in July 2020, more than two decades after it was set up.

Brent-based Akshar Educational Trust (AET), which runs the school, said difficulties in recruitment and re­tention of teachers, declining pupil numbers and in­creasing regulatory requirements have posed “signifi­cant challenges”.

“This in turn hampered our ability to invest in the re­sources required to sustain the improvements needed in the school,” the trust said in a statement on Monday (25).

Jitu Patel, chair of the AET said: “It is indeed very sad, particularly for our pupils, staff and parents. We ex­plored several options before arriving at this difficult decision. We have given all parents one year’s notice to find an alternative school, as well as a commitment to our staff that their employment is secure for the aca­demic year 2018/19.”

AET plans to close the school in two phases – the prep and senior school will continue from September 2018 until closure in July 2019, and those commencing GCSEs or A-levels in September 2018 can continue with the school until July 2020, the statement added.

A full academic year’s notice will be issued to allow parents sufficient time to apply to other schools.

AET also noted that it has had discussions with the Avanti Trust, which has been granted permission and funding from the Department for Education to open an all-through Hindu school in Brent.

The Avanti Trust is looking for a suitable site and if it is successful in opening its school by September 2019, parents can apply for places available at that school – subject to meeting the school’s admissions criteria.

Until then, the Swaminarayan School, which opened its doors in 1992, will ensure high “education standards are maintained until the very end,” Nilesh Manani, head of the senior school, said in a statement.

Umesh Raja, head of the prep school, added the “im­portant thing now is for everyone to work together over the next two years, especially for the pupils remaining.”