Coronavirus: Private schools could be forced to close for good as pandemic impacts funds

Independent schools chief says struggling institutions could be ‘tipped over financial edge’

Private schools could face challenges with pupil recruitment this year due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic (Getty Images)

More private schools could be forced to close their doors permanently to children due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, an independent schools chief has said.

Christopher King, chief executive of the Independent Association of Prep Schools (Iaps), said fee-paying schools which were already struggling could be “tipped over the financial edge” if they face challenges with pupil recruitment in the autumn.

The warning came after the Minster School in York, a prep school that provides choristers for the city’s cathedral, announced plans to close due to a cash shortfall.