Boris Johnson's East Sussex school to close due to Covid-19

Ashdown House, which is 177 years old, is a boarding school for girls and boys

A prep school which Prime Minster Boris Johnson attended is to shut permanently due to the pressures of coronavirus.

Ashdown House in Forest Row, East Sussex, teaches children from the ages of seven to 13 and charges fees of up to £9,500 per term.

It is a feeder for prominent public schools such as Eton, and will close at the end of this academic year.

The Cothill Trust, which runs the school, said the decision had been made with "an incredibly heavy heart".

Founded in 1843, the school was plagued by child sex abuse for 25 years, from 1969, an inquiry heard.

More than a decade ago it was bought by The Cothill Trust, which had been working to turn the school around.

Tom Beardmore-Gray, chief executive of the trust said: "The impact of the coronavirus has changed everything."

The trustees planned to continue investing in the school, before the coronavirus

In a statement released to parents, Mr Beardmore-Gray said when the trust took over the school in 2009, the trustees were aware some "very significant challenges needed to be addressed" and were "united" in doing all they could to keep the school running.

Mr Beardmore-Gray added: "However, given the challenges the sector as a whole is now facing, it is not possible to maintain this support."

The school will be closing at the end of this academic year, and pupils supported in finding alternative provision, the trust said.

Boris Johnson attended the school in 1975, six years after the first allegations of sexual abuse of pupils were made.

Martin Haigh, who taught at the school between 1973 and 1975, was eventually jailed in March 2017 for 12 years for 11 sex offences against boys at the school and possession of indecent images of children.

Allegations of abuse had been made against at least seven Ashdown House staff, involving 15 complainants, but Haigh was the only one convicted.