By: Jon Williams, Peter Hallmark
I am absolutely shocked to hear this bad news. It is bad news for the students and the teaching staff and I feel really sorry for them. The whole village will feel the impact from this. The Highams petrol station, the shops on London road and people looking to sell their property. Also the local bus companies and taxi firms. I know of one family who only moved in January so that their daughter could walk to the school. Call me naïve, if you want, but in business studies at King's they talked about the elasticity of demand. If the number of pupils drop why not reduce the fees? Cut the costs by not paying the staff and governors as much. If they don't like it then they can always get a job at a state school who will pay even less. It will make it more attractive and affordable to family's who want to send their daughters to a private school locally. Or, if that lacks viability (rubbish idea), how about opening up the school to boys? That is opening up the market by 50%. Which, Lord Sugar will tell you, is good business. Please don't let it be turned into mansion or flats. I went to the primary when Tony Hart designed the squirrel logo after the school won a competition. I remember we would sometimes talk to the Mount Carmel girls through the fence on the football field. Life was much simpler back then.
