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Muckle advise on historic schools merger

North East law firm Muckle LLP has advised on the merger of two historic schools in the North West.

Muckle LLP’s Education Team worked on the merger of Sedbergh and Casterton Schools, two of the country’s longest established independent schools.

Sedbergh School, in Cumbria, was founded in the 1500s by Roger Lupton, Provost of Eton. Its famous alumni includes former England Rugby Captain Will Carling. Casterton, an independent girls’ school at Kirkby Lonsdale, was established 190 years ago with the Bronte sisters amongst its first pupils.

The deal will see a preparatory school for three to 13-year-olds open its doors at the Casterton site in September, to be known as Casterton School.

It will be one of the largest independent prep schools in the country, with around 200 pupils, who will enjoy facilities including a theatre, science labs, arts centre, gym, swimming pool, riding stables, floodlit astroturf pitch and modern, spacious classrooms.

Senior students, aged 13 to 18 years, will be educated at Sedbergh School, where 540 pupils are expected to attend from September. New facilities have been created including a new girls’ boarding house for former Casterton pupils.

Muckle LLP advised the schools on the merger of their staff, the consultation with trades unions and managed the integration process that saw a number of staff, both teaching and non-teaching, taking voluntary redundancy.

Tony McPhillips, partner and head of the Education Team at Muckle LLP explained: “The merger needed to be handled sensitively, but also in a short time frame to minimise disruption to pupils, parents and staff. We put in place a tight project plan which we stuck to. The whole consultation process was completed in ten weeks.

“A member of our Education Team was seconded to the two schools as the team worked closely with Sedbergh School’s bursar, Peter Marshall, and his department. This assisted the bursar’s department and HR teams to ensure the merger was completed in time for the new school to open in September and to allow staff to plan for their futures, and bed into their new roles ahead of the new academic year.”

The dedicated team at Muckle LLP worked closely with the schools, assisting them in selection criteria to ensure that the teaching staff best met the new merged schools’ objectives in providing an even stronger teaching platform for the future.

Tony added: “In situations like this, where change occurs and people’s jobs are at risk, it’s never easy for anybody, but at least people know they have been treated fairly in what was a short, fair and transparent process.”

Head teacher at Sedbergh School, Andrew Fleck, who will remain head teacher of Sedbergh School, said: “Sedbergh is growing and by bringing the two schools together we will provide continuity of education for Casterton pupils and enable Sedbergh to expand further at prep and senior levels.

“The guidance we had from Tony and the team at Muckle LLP was absolutely instrumental in the successful outcome of the merger. They were very patient as we worked our way towards a conclusion about the best process by which to merge the schools and then extremely clear about the process of staff re-organisation.

“Tony and the team at Muckle LLP gave me the reassurance to do what was necessary for the benefit of the school. Their professional advice has been spot on. They went above and beyond and I am very grateful for their guidance and support. This has led to an outcome where I am confident that we have an enhanced common room of staff with the skills and attitude that will take Sedbergh forward. “

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