UK college collapses into administration - 5,000 students in limbo
The online college offers GCSE, A-Level and BTEC courses to thousands of students, who have been left 'stressed' by its collapse.
A UK college has plunged into administration, leaving 5,600 students with an uncertain future. Oxbridge Home Learning, a digital college offering GCSE, A-Level and BTEC courses, made 11 of its 25 employees redundant last year, according to a report published this month. It also emerged that 432 unsecured claims have been made against the company, totalling £596,000, including from students.
Administrators are eyeing "a number of potential avenues for further investigation and enquiries", the report said, with no further information disclosed.
The firm sold assets including intellectual property to Birmingham-based Home Learning Ltd in October in a deal worth almost £55,000. Matthew Jones, director of Oxbridge, is also at the helm of its buyer, according to documents on Companies House.
Administrators said the business began to falter when it cut ties with a government-funded scheme due to a change in provisions.
Rebecca Jane Dacre, of Forvis Mazars LLP, told the Oxford Mail: "Due to this, vocational courses became unprofitable but this matter was not identified in a timely manner."
The cashflow difficulties saw the company accrue "significant rent arrears", with Oxbridge unable to maintain loan repayments of £97,000 per month, leading to contracts being terminated last summer.
"Critical creditors, who provided exam results, were threatening to withdraw due to the significant arreas and threatening to issue a winding up petition," Ms Dacre said.
Amelia, a 17-year-old student from Banbury, said the collapse was "very stressful" for students preparing to apply for university.
"I don't know what's going to happen next because I had a whole plan of what was going to happen with university," she told the BBC. But obviously universities require A-Level grades."
Oxbridge said it had "tried everything possible" to find a buyer, adding that it "deeply regrets the impact this will have on students and staff".
A spokesperson added: "We are trying our best to mitigate [the effects]. We are also truly sorry for the disruption and disappointment this has caused."
