Kensington Park School company in liquidation, term 7 Sept

The company behind Kensington Park School has gone into liquidation, 18 days before its autumn term is due to start.

Kensington Park School Limited passed a written resolution on 20 August 2026 that it be wound up voluntarily. Two joint liquidators were appointed the same day. The notices were published in The Gazette, the official public record, on 26 August. (The Gazette, resolutions for winding-up; The Gazette, appointment of liquidators)

The company is registered at 59 Queen’s Gate, South Kensington, SW7 5JP, where the school runs its sixth form. Its senior school, and the trading address given on the liquidation notice, is 40-44 Bark Place, W2 4AT. That is just over a mile north, in Bayswater ward, and inside the City of Westminster rather than the Royal Borough. (The Gazette, notice to creditors; Kensington Park School)

As of this morning the school’s own website carries no statement about the liquidation. Its homepage still reads: “We still have places in certain year groups for September 2026.” Its published term dates still list the autumn term as starting on Monday 7 September 2026. (Kensington Park School; term dates)

The dates that matter

HMRC petitioned to wind the company up in July

The liquidation was not the first insolvency step against the company this summer.

On 9 July 2026 the Commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs presented a petition to wind up Kensington Park School Limited. That petition was advertised in The Gazette on 20 August, the same date the company’s own winding-up resolution was passed. The hearing is listed for 2 September 2026 at 10.30am. (The Gazette, petitions to wind up (companies))

A winding-up petition presented by HMRC is a creditor asking the court to close a company over an unpaid debt. The notice does not state the amount owed.

The joint liquidators are Philip Dakin (IP number 16490) and Benjamin John Wiles (IP number 10670), both of Kroll Advisory Ltd, The News Building, Level 6, 3 London Bridge Street, SE1 9SG. Creditors have until 30 September 2026 to submit claims. (The Gazette, notice to creditors)

173 pupils in a school built for 604

The school teaches ages 11 to 18 across the two sites. The Department for Education’s register records 173 pupils on roll against a capacity of 604, in a record last changed on 23 July 2026. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2018, judged it Good overall, with the sixth form Outstanding. (Get Information about Schools, URN 100536; Ofsted)

Published fees for 2026/27, all excluding VAT, are:

• Years 7 to 11 and current sixth-formers, UK residents: £9,950 a term, £29,850 a year
• The same year groups, international students: £11,200 a term, £33,600 a year
• Direct entry to the sixth form, UK residents: £10,350 a term, £31,050 a year
• Boarding, on top of tuition: £8,510 a term shared en-suite, up to £12,200 single premium
• Tuition deposit: the cost of one term. Boarding deposit: £5,000

(Kensington Park School, fees)

The accounts showed a company £2.8m in the red

Kensington Park School Limited last filed accounts for the year to 31 August 2024. They record:

• Turnover of £8,013,385, almost flat on the £8,007,348 of the year before
• An operating loss of £452,286, after a £847,578 operating loss in 2023
• A loss for the year of £510,666, after £936,658 in 2023
• Net liabilities of £2,789,044, up from £2,278,378
• An average of 76 staff, 63 of them teachers and tutors, down from 81

(Companies House, Kensington Park School Limited, accounts to 31 August 2024)

Those accounts were signed off on a going concern basis, and the auditor recorded no material uncertainty about the company continuing. That conclusion rested on support from further up the ownership chain.

The going concern note is explicit. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Star Education Investment Limited, and the directors wrote that at group level “it is clear over the next 12 to 24 months that the Group is dependent upon ongoing financial support from Shanghai Ten Springs Enterprise Management Consulting Co., Ltd (Ten Springs), the ultimate controlling entity”. They added that Ten Springs “have confirmed their ongoing financial support and agreed to fund the shortfall highlighted by the forecasts over the next 2 years”.

The auditor signed that report on 29 August 2025. The company resolved to wind itself up on 20 August 2026, just under a year later.

The directors’ strategic report for the same year had already named the pressure. It said the government’s policy of charging VAT on independent school fees was “affecting UK Independent Education”, that parents were “struggling to cope with the fee increases”, and that student numbers at the school were “slowing down”.

Star Education Investment Limited, company number 10213869, remains listed as active at Companies House. It is not itself in liquidation.

The official registers have not caught up

Two public records still show the school as normal, and both lag the Gazette notices.

Companies House still gives the status of Kensington Park School Limited as Active, checked this morning. The Department for Education’s register still gives the establishment status as Open. Neither has yet been updated to reflect the 20 August resolution. (Companies House; Get Information about Schools)

We could not reach any statement from the school, from Star Education or from the liquidators today, and none had been published on the school’s website at the time of writing. Nothing in the notices says the school will close, or that it will not open on 7 September. What the record establishes is that the company that has run it since 1979, first as Lansdowne Tutors Limited and under its present name since 2017, has resolved to wind itself up and appointed liquidators.

What it means for you

If your child is on roll, the people who can now answer questions about the company are the joint liquidators at Kroll Advisory, on 020 7089 4700. The school’s own number is 020 7616 4400. Ask specifically whether the autumn term is going ahead on 7 September and who is operating the school, because the liquidation notices do not answer either question.

If you have paid fees or a deposit in advance, you are likely to be a creditor of the company. The deadline for submitting a claim is 30 September 2026, and claims must be in the format set out in Rule 14.4 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016. A tuition deposit is one term’s fees and a boarding deposit is £5,000, so the sums involved are not small. If you paid by credit card you may also have rights against the card provider; check before the September deadline rather than after it.

If you are a supplier or a member of staff, the same 30 September date and the same contact apply. Employees of an insolvent company can claim certain statutory payments through the Insolvency Service.

If you were considering the school for September, the website was still advertising places this morning. Treat that as out of date until someone confirms otherwise in writing.

Anyone named in an insolvency notice, including a company, is entitled to have their side recorded. If the school, Star Education or the liquidators issue a statement, we will add it here.

We will follow the 2 September hearing and update this article.