Mount St Mary's College Barlborough Hall: Fundraiser 'exploring' ways for parents to pay teachers
A fundraiser to save a pair of private schools has fallen short of its £1m goal - but kindhearted donors have been asked if they want their money to go towards paying teachers’ unpaid wages.
The last-ditch effort to pull Mount St Mary's College & Barlborough Hall School out of administration launched on GoFundMe this week, asking parents to find £1,000,000 in just 24 hours.
An astonishing £416,000 was raised - but households have now been told the deadline has passed and their money will be refunded.
An update posted on August 6 reads: “The deadline for our GoFundMe campaign has now passed. Despite the tremendous efforts and generosity from our community, we did not reach our fundraising goal. As a result, all donations will be refunded today.”
The top 20 donations amounted to £170,000, included several payments of £15,000, and one man donated a total of £20,000 across two pledges.
Despite GoFundMe’s automatic refund policy, the update posted by organiser Jessica Penny for the ‘Parents Action Team’ says the door is open for contributions to go towards paying staff left high and dry by the sudden closure.
The update reads: “While this particular campaign has concluded, our commitment to the cause remains strong. We are actively exploring alternative options and next steps.
“The Governing Body is expected to provide an update in due course. Several meetings have already taken place this morning, with additional discussions scheduled throughout the day.
“We understand that many donors may prefer their contributions to be retained and directed toward supporting the hardworking staff. While we are unable to allocate the refunded donations for this purpose, we are actively exploring alternative avenues through which individuals may be able to offer financial support to the staff.
“We appreciate your support, generosity and continued interest in supporting those involved.”
The crowdfunding page originally set a deadline of 5pm on August 5.
Meanwhile, company accounts show MSM has been running at a loss for as many as 15 years, draining its available funds from £16.8m in 2009 to £3.2m in 2023.
This is despite £3m in loans on “very generous terms” from the Jesuits of Britain that the school appears unable to repay.
One highly critical reader, John Dye, wrote on The Star’s Facebook page during the fundraiser: “I find it utterly unconscionable for this school to be asking the very people who have paid expensive school fees to help foot the bill of the school’s mismanagement and financial incompetence.
“The school needs to close end of. It’s been in financial difficulties for the best part of 10 years.
“How is getting a million quid by midnight tonight [August 5] going to solve the issue if £3m isn’t enough?
“It’s absolute insanity to think anything meaningful will come of donations. The current amount of over 300k would be wiped out paying staff wages and the like.”