Sudden closure of Victorian private school sends parents scrambling

Sudden closure of Victorian private school sends parents scrambling

Colmont School, located just north of Melbourne, has suddenly closed, leaving families just two days to find a new school for their children.

The announcement of that the school had been placed in the hands of administrators due to “financial difficulties” was made at a meeting on Wednesday night, in which it was explained that from Friday 29 July, classes would no longer be operating for students in Years 3-10.

“We understand that this will be unexpected and distressing news for your family. The administrators will make decisions about how long the school and school boarding premises will continue to operate and inform families about this decision,” an email sent to parents read.

Late yesterday, the administrators informed the school community that they did not have the financial capacity to continue to operate Years 3 to Year 10. As a result, these classes will close at the end of this week.

Years 11 and Year 12 will continue to operate while the administrators liaise with the International Baccalaureate Organisation to find alternative schools for affected students.

“At a meeting convened by the administrators last night, parents and school staff expressed their support for the school continuing to operate,” Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) chief executive Michelle Green, said.

“At this stage it’s very unclear how this can happen, given what we now know about the school’s financial position.”

Green said that while ISV was aware that the school board was seeking financial support in recent weeks, it did not know the extent of its financial difficulties.

“The school’s efforts, supported by ISV, to secure short term financial support were unfortunately unsuccessful.”

ISV is currently in the process working with the school regulator (the VRQA), the Department of Education and Training, and other schools to find alternatives for the school’s students.