Seend Cleeve Man Loves School So Much He Bought It

Martial arts expert Matt Hill, 38 and from Seend Cleeve, was horrified when his daughter Olivia's school was threatened with closure. So horrified that he bought it! He and busines partner Dave Stanley made an offer on The Mill School in Potterne, which was due to close at the end of the summer term in July.

Matt and Dave together run training firm Forward Thinking Solutions and were over the moon when their offer of around £1 million was accepted for the prep school, which is housed in an 18th-century watermill among other newer buildings. They formally took over the school on May 20th and have promised that all staff will keep their jobs. Now the partners  are looking forward to bringing their business acumen to bear in running their new purchase.

Matt said, "It's a very exciting opportunity for us as we can bring the expertise in from our other companies and invest in marketing and refurbishment and improve the offering for the children, parents and staff."

The Mill School caters for children aged between two to 11. It currently has 65 pupils but can accommodate 112. Fees are £7,500 per year and 80 per cent of its pupils go on to win scholarships to secondary schools across the south west.