Dale House: Yorkshire independent prep school owned by headteacher to close suddenly as parents and staff 'unaware' building had been sold

Dale House in Carlinghow, near Batley, is a small fee-paying school for pupils aged between two and 11.

The school is unusual in that the business is owned and run by the headmistress, Sarah Fletcher, who founded Dale House herself in 1999.

In 2020, The Sunday Times ranked Dale House among the top 50 independent prep schools in the country.

Mrs Fletcher’s husband, Andrew, bought the derelict Victorian former Sunday school building as a 40th birthday present for her in 1997, after she was struggling to find a suitable school for their daughter. Mr Fletcher is also a director of the business.

There are now around 75 pupils and 15 staff, including teachers who have worked there for all 25 years of the school’s existence.

However, at the start of the autumn term staff were informed that the school site was up for sale and would be closing at Christmas. It later transpired that the building had actually been sold in June without ever being advertised on the open market, with the buyer not intending to continue its educational use. All staff have now been made redundant.

A group of parents who expressed interest in buying the business themselves later found out that it had already been sold by the time they were informed of the closure.

One source at Dale House said: ”The Fletchers negotiated a sale back in June, but this was never communicated to staff or parents, who paid fees and spent money on uniforms for a full year.

"The teachers were told on the first or second day of the new term to not notify parents as the head was sending a letter out at the end of the first week.

“I know there were lots of outraged parents and the majority of the children have been moved to other schools already.

“They should have put the staff and parents on notice, given the opportunity to them to find a buyer or find the funds to buy it as a going concern and keep the school going."

Dale House School declined to comment on the sale and closure when contacted by The Yorkshire Post.

A spokesperson for Kirklees Council said: “We can confirm that the local authority has been made aware of this closure and has been with working Dale House to support parents in finding alternative school places.”