A UK independent school has become the education sector’s latest Covid-19 casualty after announcing it will close in the summer.

Moreton Hall Preparatory School in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, which has 61 pupils, said it would close after the summer term – a move that will see at least 40 people lose their jobs.

In a statement, the school said that the prep school market had become increasingly challenging over the past 10 years, during which time its governors had been attempting to secure its long-term future and entice higher numbers of pupils.

But the novel “coronavirus has suddenly unravelled all these plans,” it said. "Many parents now find themselves in difficult financial straits; overseas boarding will not become feasible again until at least 2021 to 2022; and we cannot draw on the usual annual income from summer camps.

"It is a perfect storm."

News of the closure came just a day after Abbots Bromley, an ailing school in Staffordshire, was spared from insolvency by a consortium of Chinese investors.

It underlines the plight of private schools amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which is poised to cause a significant drop in numbers of international students and leave yawning holes in schools’ balance sheets, as domestic parents’ ability to keep up with tuition fees diminishes.  

Moreton Hall charges fees of between £3,000 and £8,000 a term.

Moreton Hall was founded more than 70 years ago. The grade II-listed school caters to a mix of day and boarding students.