We’ll run it ourselves, say parents fighting to save Hindu school

Facing closure: Europe’s only independent Hindu school is based in Neasden
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More than 3,200 people have joined a campaign to save the only independent Hindu school in Europe from closure .

The £12,000-a-year Swaminarayan School in Neasden shocked parents and pupils by announcing it will shut by 2020, blaming increasing regulatory requirements and competition from state-funded Hindu schools .

Parents say they are prepared to run it themselves. Footage emerged of a heated meeting the day after the closure was announced where parents voiced their anger, and a school trustee was jostled as he tried to leave the hall.

The school, which teaches 494 boys and girls, announced last week that it plans to close the prep and senior sections by summer 2019, but GCSE and A-level students can stay on to July 2020. The school, run by charity Akshar Educational Trust, also blamed difficulties recruiting and retaining teachers, and declining pupil numbers. But parents said: “The governors and trustees just seem to have had enough and this is now the easiest option for them.”

More than 3,200 people have signed a Change.org petition urging the Charity Commission to investigate. A commission spokeswoman said it will assess any submissions “to establish if there is a need for regulatory involvement”.

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