An Oxford private school which was recently labelled as ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted has responded to speculation of liquidation.

Oxford International College on London Place just outside of the city centre is an independent boarding catering to pupils aged between 14 and 19 years old.

The institution, which is chaired by Andrew Fitzmaurice, has just short of 700 pupils between its school and sixth form year groups.

After a recent damning report from Ofsted which saw the school criticised over safeguarding issues, the school has faced even more questions after its status was marked as in ‘liquidation’ on Companies House.

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Oxford International College on London Place.Oxford International College on London Place.

When approached by the Oxford Mail over the issue, Oxford International College dismissed the idea that jobs may be at risk.

“That was a legacy legal entity which had no connection whatsoever to Oxford International College, which continues to operate profitably under the trading name of ‘Oxford International Schools Limited’.

The website also revealed that the ‘inadequate’ institution has overdue accounts as these should have been issued by May 31 earlier this year.

These accounts are from September 1, 2022, to August 31, 2023, with Companies House currently possessing accounts up to August 31, 2022.

In response to this, the spokesperson for Oxford International College added: “We have experienced a minor delay to the filing of our accounts, which were due at end of last month (31 August 2024).

READ MORE: Oxford private school responds to ‘inadequate’ Ofsted report

Companies House lists the schools status as liquidation.Companies House lists the schools status as liquidation. (Image: Companies House.)

“This has no bearing on the financial status of the school and will have categorically no impact for pupils, parents, or any other party.

“We expect our accounts, which are independently audited, to be filed very shortly.”

There is a penalty for submitting accounts late to Companies House and a fine will have likely been automatically issued to Oxford International College.

An official GOV.UK statement informs: “You'll automatically receive a penalty notice if your accounts are filed after the deadline.

“The penalty is doubled if your accounts are late two years in a row.

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“You can be fined and your company struck off the register if you do not send Companies House your accounts or confirmation statement.”

The school was visited by Ofsted inspectors between Tuesday, April 16 and Thursday, April 18 earlier this year.

One major issue which was outlined was the safeguarding failures at the school which raised serious concerns.

“The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective,” read the report.

“School leaders are not sufficiently knowledgeable about safeguarding practice to carry out their duties effectively.

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Students at Oxford International College.Students at Oxford International College. (Image: Oxford International College)

“Leaders do not always recognise when something constitutes a serious concern and, consequently, they sometimes fail to take important actions to keep pupils safe.

“This has left some pupils at increased risk of harm.”

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