TWO private schools in the York area lost money last year - but both say they have detailed plans in place to restore their fortunes.

The Mount School - whose former pupils include Dame Judi Dench and Booker Prize winning novelist AS Byatt - was £727,000 in deficit in the year to August 2018, and further losses are anticipated this year and next, according to its latest annual report.

The annual report for Queen Margaret’s School at Escrick shows an overall deficit of £156,000 in the year to August 2018, following a continuing decline in the school roll.

However, The Mount School's report said significant funds had been generated to reinvest in school facilities and increase cash reserves through the sale for £2.6 million of former playing fields land for housing development. A planning application for the housing scheme was hotly contested by local residents but approved by councillors earlier this year.

The report said another £850,000 had been generated through the sale of a former boarding house building in Driffield Terrace and a six point plan had been drawn up to restore the school’s fortunes, with the priority being to reverse a fall in student numbers.

The 'six pillars' of the governor's financial strategy were to invest in pupil recruitment capability and capacity, imaginatively use assets, reduce the cost base, secure interim funding for cash flow support, re-invest in financial capability and invest in fund raising capability.

Margaret Bryan, clerk to The Mount School committee, said the long-term decline in boarding nationally posed a particular challenge for smaller schools such as The Mount but while the school had been experiencing short-term financial challenges, its plans for the future were 'robust, sustainable and achievable.'

She said it had taken the first steps to unlock capital through the disposal of the 'small parcel of unused land' at the far end of the playing fields and said: "We have a wonderful student body, a committed parent and carer community, and a truly excellent teaching and support staff who believe passionately in the power of girls' education and who are, I know, committed to The Mount School and the vision that 'We know girls can'."

Caroline Bayliss, chair of the governors at Queen Margaret’s, said the board had been alert to the challenges faced by all independent schools and three years ago had carried out a strategic review to ensure the long-term security of the school in a changing sector.

She said: "We are now two years into our plan and will shortly file accounts that show the school’s financial health has been future-proofed."

She said a recent inspection by ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) had been a 'glowing testament to our school and the girls who excel here,' adding: "QM is now the only all-girls full and day boarding school in the north of England which, in itself, demonstrates our financial resilience. We will remain a first choice for outstanding girls only education.”