The diaspora has been left shocked with the news of the sudden closure of The Swaminarayan School which has served the community faithfully over 25 years. People have been immensely proud of this private school’s many successes and achievements during this time, especially the remarkable grades achieved by the students at GCSE or A-levels.
A spokesperson from the £4310 a-term private Hindu school in a letter said, “with the increasing regulatory requirements, difficulties in recruitment and retention of teachers, ready availability of free state-funded Hindu schools, and declining pupil numbers have all posed significant challenges to the school, particularly over the last few years.” They have reportedly hampered the investment in the resources required to sustain the improvements needed in the School, both educationally and in infrastructure, resulting into the Akshar Educational Trust’s (AET) decision to exit the education sector.
The trustees said that they would close the School in two phases. “The closure timetable will give a full academic year’s notice in order to allow all parents ample time to apply to other schools. The whole of the Prep School and Senior School will continue as normal from September 2018 until closure in July 2019. This applies to all pupils, except those commencing GCSEs or A-levels in September 2018 (i.e. entering Year 11 or Year 13 in September 2019) who will all be able to complete their GCSEs and A-levels at the School until July 2020. The School is in the process of liaising with the Secretary of State for Education to amend their registration details,” according to a statement.
The School is now in discussions with the Avanti Trust which runs state-funded Hindu faith schools. The Trust has been granted permission and funding from the Department for Education to open an all-through Hindu school in Brent, and is currently actively looking for a suitable site. If the Avanti Trust is successful in opening its school by September 2019, The Swaminarayan School parents will be able to apply for places available at that school – subject to meeting the school’s admissions criteria and the catchment area.
Jitu Patel, Chair of 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.” Nilesh Manani, Head of the Senior School since it opened, said, “The children and staff are some of the very best I have had the privilege of supporting and we will strive to ensure that our education standards are maintained until the very end.” Umesh Raja, Head of the Prep School, said, “It is very sad, but the most important thing now is for everyone to work together over the next two years, especially for the pupils remaining at our school.”
However, the parents of the 449 pupil-school, who came to know about the closure over emails on Monday evening were livid, as the news went viral. One parent, who did not want to be named told Asian Voice, “We parents have not been consulted. This is outrageous. What if our children now get through nowhere?” Heena Solanki, whose two children go to the The Swaminarayan School said, “It’s a very sad day. We have supported the school through various challenges and our need for faith based school which has balance of academic and culture.” A protest has been organised by the parents on Tuesday 6pm as we go to press, at the first meeting about the closure between the School management and enraged parents.
