Fernhill’s wealthy parents tried to save the school, so why did it still close?

Last Thursday, Rutherglen’s private Fernhill School entered liquidation in spectacular fashion. One day earlier than had been planned, while children were in class awaiting a farewell fun day with bouncy castles and barbecues, teachers were called into a classroom and told by a director, David Equi of the eponymous ice cream brand, that the school was closed. Teachers wouldn’t be receiving their June salary and would have to navigate the UK government’s insolvency service to receive any redundancy pay. In short, they were getting nothing from the school. We reported on the ensuing chaos at the school gates as parents came to pick up crying children, described by a teacher as “absolutely fuming” at how the day had transpired. Teachers themselves hurriedly packed their belongings into cardboard boxes and unceremoniously left the fenced-off campus. 

Since then, parental ire has moved beyond the fallout of Thursday 18 June, as they reflect on the months since the January announcement that Fernhill would shut. After discussions with 14 parents and staff, The Bell has learned of a last-ditch attempt to save the school that proponents believe was stonewalled by one of its directors. Was Fernhill always doomed? And if not, why did a “working group” of deep-pocketed, highly experienced parents who would “spend whatever it takes” to put their children through school get the cold shoulder from the big boss of Tony Macaroni and Banco Di Roma, Giuseppe ‘Sep’ Marini, who has been a Fernhill director since 2014?

The working group

On Friday 30 January 2026, Fernhill School announced that it was going to close permanently in the face of profound financial challenges. Over the following weekend, parents emailed their anger and sadness to their parent council representatives. But they also sent in offers of help. By the following Tuesday, the chair of the parent council sent out a questionnaire to all parents to gauge the level of interest in a potential rescue mission. The task: Save Our School. A so-called working group was set up consisting of 12 parents with the “financial wherewithal, knowledge, and desire” to bail out Fernhill’s losses and “explore the viability of the school”, according to one of those who was at the centre of it.