DURAND Academy, the controversial school for weekly boarders on the former St Cuthman’s site at Stedham, has closed down after a three-and-a-half year battle to build new facilities for inner city children.

The academy trust’s governing body has taken the “painful” decision to close down the free boarding school for pupils from an inner London borough blaming government officials for the move, with Sir Greg Martin, the trust’s founder, vowing to “fight a takeover” by the Government.

It represents the latest blow for the controversial south London-based trust, which has been involved in battles with both Ofsted and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), and is set to have its funding withdrawn.

The South London-based trust has a history of being feted by politicians including ex-Education Minister Michael Gove, but has also received its fair share of criticism.

It was revealed by the Times Educational Supplement staff at Durand’s state-funded boarding school in West Sussex had been given a few days to come up with a plan to save their school, after being told that it faced a £500,000 funding shortfall.

The trust also has a day school in south London.

Durand’s governing body chairman Sir Greg Martin wrote a letter to parents before the summer break, stating: “I realise you have been very upset, understandably, by the rumours about the boarding school (closing down).

“The governing body has not been in a position to write to you about this as we have been wrestling with a number of very difficult financial decisions, one of which was the boarding school.

“We also needed to consult with the staff of the school and consider their ideas and responses before a final decision could be made. Sadly they, like us, could not find the required saving and as such we need to make the painful and very difficult decision to close the boarding school.

“The fault does not lie with governors - it lies with the Education Funding Agency.”

Sir Greg’s letter accused the ESFA of failing to provide the necessary support and not wanting the boarding school to succeed.

He claimed the Durand Academy Trust “tried its hardest” to make the project a success and blamed “a dreadful campaign waged to get the school closed” for its failure, calling it a “shocking betrayal of the children”.

St Cuthman’s School opened as the UK’s first, free state boarding school in 2014, when pupils from innerer London were taken by coach to Stedham each Monday, returning home on Friday.

Facing strong local opposition, the Durand Academy Trust (DAT) was refused permission to expand the school by the South Downs National Park Authority last November.

Campaigners protested the St Cuthman’s site was always inappropriate for such a large-scale greenfield development and called it “an ill-conceived project in entirely the wrong location”.

Anne Reynolds, former chairman of Woolbeding 

with Redford Parish Council, sent a strong letter of objection to the SDNPA at the time, stating: "The applicant (DAT) should demonstrate the need for this development.” She pointed out that “no pre-purchase planning advice had been sought”.

Previous plans to build a £22million state boarding school for pupils from London were refused permission in December 2013.

The SDNPA said at the time the proposed 375-pupil academy was too big and its impact on the landscape would be “inappropriate”.

On July 4, last year , the Education Funding Agency issued it with a notice of provisional intention to terminate the trust over use of public money and poor governance.

The EFA issued DAT with a list of final demands, some of which had to be met by August 1, 2016, if the school was to continue operating under its existing contract, after it was found to have breached its funding agreement.

The letter by the EFA was addressed to Sir Greg, who is also a shareholder in a number of other companies, including London Horizons and GMG Management Resource (UK).

It accused the academy of not meeting the conditions and requirements set out in the funding agreement between the Secretary of State and the Durand Academy Trust – and being in material breach of the funding agreement, as well as a conflict of interest surrounding its association with Durand Education Trust (DET), which owns land occupied by Durand Academy in Lambeth.

The EFA conditions required that no director of DAT was also a director of DET by August 1, 2016, and that Sir Greg Martin resigned as chairman of governors, director and trustee of DAT – or any other position within the trust.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said earlier this summer: “We have confirmed to Durand Academy Trust that we will be terminating its funding agreement – giving 12 months’ notice.

“This is not a decision we have taken lightly but follows multiple breaches by the trust of its funding agreement and a failure or refusal to comply with the requirements set out by the department to address concerns about financial management and governance.

“DAT has been given multiple opportunities to respond to our concerns but has failed to do so.

“We will now begin the process to transfer the school to a new sponsor.”

The trust has yet to give no indication yet of its plans to dispose of the site.