Uncertainty for international pupils after school closure

International students living at a private school that closed down suddenly have been left scrambling to find alternate arrangements, a teacher has said.

Leweston School, an independent day-and-boarding school in Dorset, housed more than 20 international students.

Holly Quick, its former director of international students, said some had been forced to return home abroad or left with their visa status in limbo.

Hugh Dickinson, the CEO of Concept Education, which took over the school in December, said there was now a transition team in place and such queries would be dealt with urgently.

Quick said staff trying to help students collect suitcases and passports from the site had not received any response or guidance.

"We had over twenty students that were impacted - they were all in boarding," said Quick, who was also the school's Head of English as a Foreign Language.

International students attended from as far afield as Mexico and China, and many had their visas sponsored by the school.

Most have now found places at other schools.

But Quick said one Year 11 student from China was forced to return home after failing to find another place due to a lack of support for his level of English.

"I had to help him pack up his stuff, and he just couldn't process why," she said. "He just broke down in tears."

Holly said returning home meant he would not be able to sit his GCSEs.

"That's going to have a massive mental health impact on him as a child," she said.

She said two Year 13 students from China were still looking for places in a different school.

"[They] are at risk of potentially being sent home - if they ever decided to leave the country, they wouldn't be able to return because they have no [visa] sponsorship," she said.

Quick said a few weeks before the closure the school had actively been recruiting for international schools at a large open day.

Some families had already paid deposits of around £4,000 and booked flights, and were due to start for a term at the school in January, she said.

She has since been fielding angry emails and phone calls from agents demanding that money back, despite having lost her own job and having no access to school systems.

"It's becoming really difficult and quite stressful, because I'm trying to sort out my life at the same time," she said.

"I don't even know when I'm getting paid at the moment."

María, a 17-year old from Spain who was studying for her A-levels in Leweston, has gained a place at another private school.

But she is unable to start lessons until the school processes her visa sponsorship.

The Year 13 student, who was beginning her third year at Leweston, said the impact on her community had been devastating.

"Everyone right now is saying that they feel bad for our school closing," she said. "Okay, but who's going to give me my school back, my home back?

"It literally feels like I've been kicked out of my own home without having a chance to say goodbye to my family.

"And I just want to say, we're not going to give up fighting for our school."

Concept Education previously wrote in a letter to parents that it had pursued every reasonable prospect to save the school, but anticipated funding had not materialised.