Leweston School has closed: what to do if your child was there

Families were told during half term that the school would not reopen. Places have been offered at Clayesmore and Sunninghill Prep from Monday 2 November. What Service families need to sort out before accepting one.

Families at Leweston School found out during the half-term break that their school would not be reopening.

There was no warning. Just a message during the holidays saying that the school, which had stood near Sherborne in Dorset since 1891, was closing for good.

If you are one of those families, you have had an awful week. Your child has lost their school, teachers and friends all at once, and you have a few days to find somewhere else. If you are serving away from home, you may be trying to deal with all of this from the other side of the world.

This article is for you.

Leweston was a co-educational Catholic boarding and day school for children from nursery through to sixth form. It welcomed Forces families and described itself as a ‘10% school’, meaning CEA covered most of the boarding fee.

What has the school said?

The statement on Leweston’s website is brief. The school will not reopen after half term.

Every pupil has been offered a place from Monday 2 November at a school in the Inspired Learning Group, which includes Clayesmore, near Blandford Forum, and Sunninghill Prep in Dorchester.

The school says it is very sorry for the effect the closure will have on pupils, families and staff, and for being unable to give more notice. Questions about the Inspired Learning Group schools go to [email protected].

Leweston was sold in December 2025 to a subsidiary of Concept Education, which also runs The Marist School in Ascot. Less than a year later, more than 500 pupils are having to find a new school.

If your child was at Leweston and you claim CEA

A place at Clayesmore or Sunninghill from Monday is a real offer, and for many families it will be the right answer. Before you accept it, make three calls. They will take about an hour, and they protect your allowance.

Start with EAT (UK). The Education Advisory Team (UK) is there for situations like this. Speak to them whenever you are planning to move your child to a different school. They can also confirm whether the new school is on the MOD’s accredited schools database, which it needs to be for CEA to be paid.

Email [email protected] and explain what has happened.

Then speak to your Unit HR team. EAT (UK) gives advice; Unit HR deals with eligibility and the CEA Eligibility Certificate.

Moving your child to a different school part-way through a stage of education has to be authorised. Ask the new school for its offer in writing and take it to Unit HR as soon as you can. If you are deployed, ask your unit welfare team or your partner to get things started.

Keep hold of every document. The message announcing the closure, the new school’s offer and receipts for anything you paid Leweston in advance.

If something falls outside the usual rules, Unit HR can refer it to the Pay and Allowance Complaints and Casework Cell (PACCC). That is exactly what it is there for.

Thinking about other schools?

You do not have to accept the place you have been offered.

Clayesmore, which has offered places to Leweston pupils, charges CEA families the allowance plus 10% of fees. It also gives a 20% discount to Forces families who are not claiming CEA.

There are other schools in Dorset with a published Forces offer too, including Sherborne School, Sherborne Girls, Sherborne Prep, Bryanston, Canford, Milton Abbey and Port Regis. You can find all of them in the Forces Bursaries directory, with each school’s offer in its own words.

Call the admissions office, say you are a Leweston family and ask what they can do at short notice.