Chaos at the school gates: Fernhill enters liquidation, tells staff they won’t be paid

It’s 10.45 in the morning, and most of the staff at Rutherglen’s private Fernhill School have gathered in a classroom to discuss their future. They’d been told that tomorrow, on Friday 19 June, the school they’ve poured their professional lives into would shut its doors for good. The institution has been in financial trouble for the last 15 years, and now time and money have run out. The staff are being made redundant, so they’re exchanging details and comparing where each other are in the redundancy consultation process. They’re on edge, frustrated, and they haven’t been told how and when they’ll be paid.  

A quarter hour into the meeting, David Equi, director of Fernhill School walks in, followed by Donald McKinnon of WBG liquidators, and then the school’s head and deputy head teachers. 

David Equi — also the owner of Equi’s Ice Cream — begins: “Unfortunately, I’ve got some bad news. I'm afraid that the school has gone into liquidation.” On a recording of the meeting The Bell has obtained, Equi sounds solemn.

He hands over to McKinnon, a besuited professional-looking man, who confirms the liquidation and says, as a result, “there was a fun day as you'll know, it was planned for today but unfortunately we're going to have to cancel that with immediate effect.” But things get worse for the staff. “Most unfortunate”, McKinnon continues, talking louder, “is the bank account has now been frozen… and there's no money to pay any wages or redundancy. I apologise for that… but there is no money in the bank account.”