Former students and parents to raise £1m to save independent school

Parents at a prestigious independent school are racing to raise £1million to save it from closure after Labour’s tax raid on fees pushed it to the brink.

Bosses at Mount St Mary’s College and its prep school, Barlborough Hall, in Spinkhill, Derbyshire, say they can no longer remain financially viable due to soaring costs.

Dozens of teachers now face losing their jobs and children their school, but parents and former pupils are refusing to give up without a fight, launching a fundraising campaign to stop the shutters coming down.

A GoFundMe page, set up yesterday, has already pulled in more than £360,000 so far in donations.

Helen McLoughlin, 57, a computing teacher who has worked at the school since 2004, is among those rallying to save it.