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STAFF fear they will lose wages owed to them after a private school in Dorchester closed suddenly.

Dorchester Preparatory School announced earlier this month that it would shut at the end of term on because of money problems.

But parents, children and staff were stunned this week to hear the school could not survive until then.

One member of staff, who asked not to be named, said staff attended a meeting with representatives of an accountants and insolvency company where they heard they might not get all the wages due to them. She claimed redundancy packages were also in doubt.

The woman said: "We all received letters on June 12 saying that the school would close at the end of term and that we would be paid our wages for June, July and August and redundancy arrangements and references would be sorted out.

"But then we had the meeting with the accountant and they told us the school would close immediately.

"We're all so angry.

"We've been told our wages will be all right for June and July. Apparently there will be another arrangement for the rest of what we're owed. But it doesn't seem very certain and anyway it will be weeks of waiting and we're all worried about the effect on our banks and payments."

The woman said she was angry when everyone was asked to collect their possessions by the end of school on Wednesday.

She said: "The children were very subdued. They were supposed to have had a sports day but that couldn't go ahead.

"They had been planning an end of year performance next week and were still working on props right up to the end."

She said she doubted that parents would get a refund on the last week or so of term that they had paid for.

She added: "I believe one parent had paid all of next year's fees in advance already."

Dr Chris Rattew, the school's headteacher and owner, said he was optimistic that staff would all receive what was due to them.

He said: "There are rescue schemes in place to make sure that staff will be paid. I was given an assurance that all the staff would be paid."

Dr Rattew said some members of staff had found other jobs and almost all of the children had places in new schools.

He added: "There will be a few last ends left to tie up."

Simmonds and Company of Stockport is dealing with the financial problems at the school. A spokesman for the company declined to comment.

11:36am Saturday 28th June 2008

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