Industry News
Private schools 'may mount legal challenge' to Commission's rules
Posted on 12th March 2008
A number of independent schools are threatening to challenge the Charity Commission in court over new rules which would require them to offer free places or other support to children from poor backgrounds.
They said the proposed regulations were illegal and warned they could lead to some small schools going bust, the Telegraph reported.
Middle-class parents could also be priced out of the private sector as schools up their fees to meet the additional costs, according to one independent school headmaster.
The Charity Commission has said that schools who fail to comply with the new rules could have their bank accounts frozen, trustees suspended and buildings seized.
However, the Independent Schools Council has warned that the commission could be on a "collision course" with judges, saying that its new rules drift "so far from the law that it comes close to ignoring … some fundamental legal authorities".