A DENBIGHSHIRE businesswoman who withdrew her son from one of a top public school during lockdown has been told she must pay £13,000 for failing to give enough notice.

Jo Goddard, from St Asaph, also failed in her counter-claim against Malvern College in Worcestershire which, she argued, had failed to meet its obligations in educating her son adequately online when he was forced to stay at home.

Managers of the college, whose alumni include TV gardener Monty Dodd, journalist and presenter Jeremy Paxman and Chronicles of Narnia author CS Lewis, took the action against Miss Goddard after she told them in June 2021 that he would not be returning in September that year.

READ MORE:

St Asaph businesswoman in boarding school fees dispute

She told a hearing at Prestatyn County Court that when signing the contract in 2018, she had not read the details which stated that the school should be told in April about a pupil not returning in the autumn.

Miss Goddard, who runs an interior designs business, said she had chosen Malvern College for her son, identified only as “E”, not only for its academic side, but because of its exceptional extra-curricular activities.

“It was the whole experience of the school I bought into,” she said.

The co-educational school, with annual boarding fees of £39,000, boasts a wide range of facilities ranging from rugby, football and cricket to fencing, Fives, climbing and shooting.

It also has a state-of-the-art theatre.

When the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the boarders had to be educated online at home the fees per term were reduced from £13,000 to £7,900.

Upholding the school’s claim for £13,000, District Judge Dylan Lloyd-Jones said he accepted the evidence from financial director Kate Collyer that everything possible had been done to mitigate the loss by attracting other pupils but had not been able to do so.

“The defendant clearly knew the payment she was expected to make and there were no hidden charges,” he said.

He said it was “wholly unrealistic and unfair” to expect the full facilities to be available during the pandemic.

He also rejected Miss Goddard’s claim that the school had not done enough to safeguard her son, who was vulnerable because he suffered from asthma and that, during lockdown, the school was still totally responsible for his education.

The judge said that, although he found for the college and rejected Miss Goddard’s counter-claim, he had some sympathy for her.

He said she had clearly taken time in choosing the best school for her son, adding: “He is very fortunate indeed in having a parent so committed to his achieving the best in his life.”

The amount of costs Miss Goddard must pay was not revealed.