Rendcomb College, near Cirencester across the border from Oxfordshire, announced it will permanently shut its doors this summer.

This will bring an end to a 106‑year history of educating day pupils and boarders in the heart of the Cotswolds.

The independent day and boarding school opened in 1920 and has around 380 pupils on its roll.

READ MORE: Former Oxford University student ‘swung sledgehammer at police officer’

It said that current and projected pupil numbers, combined with the economic climate facing fee‑paying schools, mean it is no longer financially viable.

In a statement, governors said they had “reluctantly” concluded that the college must close at the end of the 2025‑26 academic year, after exploring “every other feasible option”, including potential mergers, alternative owners and additional sources of funding.

“Despite Rendcomb College’s extremely strong track record as a school, the reality is that current and projected pupil numbers, alongside the economic situation facing independent schools across the country, do not make the school financially viable in the future,” read the statement.

“It has therefore reluctantly been decided that the school will close at the end of the academic year.

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“The staff and governors have done everything to make Rendcomb College an excellent school, and its closure is highly unfortunate but sadly unavoidable.

“For many years, the college has benefited from significant funding from the Rendcomb College Foundation.

“Whilst this has made the operation of the college possible until now, the enormous increase in the deficit for the current year, and the anticipated financial picture for next year, mean that such support is unsustainable.

“This is a very sad decision to have taken and follows the exploration of every other feasible option, including mergers and other forms of funding.

“Our focus now will be on helping pupils find appropriate alternative provision and assisting our highly professional and dedicated staff to find posts elsewhere.”

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Wycliffe College, another independent school in Gloucestershire, has said it is prepared to offer places in all year groups to affected Rendcomb pupils and has pledged to match existing fees for those transferring into certain years, in a bid to minimise disruption.

The closure adds to growing concern about the pressures facing private schools across the region, coming after a series of high‑profile warnings about the impact of rising costs and the introduction of VAT on school fees.

In Oxfordshire, Our Lady’s Abingdon, a 160‑year‑old Catholic independent day school, shut in 2025.

A range of “economic pressures” were cited, including the planned imposition of VAT on school fees, higher National Insurance contributions, the loss of business rates relief and falling pupil numbers.

Carrdus School, a prep school serving the Banbury area, also confirmed it would close in 2025 due to financial pressures.

PURE Spa Witney Lakes has been named alongside the best in the globe by SpaSeekers.com, a spa booking agency.

Found to catch the eye more than almost every other spa in the UK, the Oxfordshire spot ranked third in the country.

This was only behind the likes of Hoar Cross Hall in the Midlands and Cheshire’s Carden Park.

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Set within the Oxfordshire countryside and bordering the Cotswolds, the agency says it provides a truly luxurious spa experience.

The results of the study come as Google searches for “relaxing holidays” are up by 353 per cent in the last month alone.

The study took images of 50 spas that are often revered online for their eye-catching aesthetics and analysed which spots grab people’s attention the quickest, as well as holding it the longest.

READ MORE: Former Oxford University student ‘swung sledgehammer at police officer’

Spa therapist Maddie Evans said: “Whether you’re planning a bucket list holiday or for a special birthday treat, a visit to a spa can make the occasion even more memorable, especially when the surroundings are just as impressive as the treatments on offer.

“These spas double up as a form of sightseeing and allow you to take in breath-taking views while relaxing.

“With so many spas around the world, there’s also something for everyone – so whether you love the sound of tropical hot springs in New Zealand or a forest getaway in England, there’s always going to be something for you, and we hope our research helps to provide inspiration for your next trip.”

Samuel Corner, a Palestine Action activist, is accused of injuring a police officer at the UK site of an Israel-based defence firm.

He has now said he swung a sledgehammer at her to “protect” a fellow participant who he thought was being “seriously hurt”.

The 23-year-old told jurors at Woolwich Crown Court on Wednesday he “would never want to seriously hurt anyone”, and denied it was part of a plan to use violence against people during the raid.

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A stock photo of a sledgehammer. (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

Corner said he brought the tool down on Police Sergeant Kate Evans after he heard “someone screaming” and feared they were being injured by security guards during the raid at the Elbit Systems site near Bristol on August 6, 2024.

Alongside the former Oxford student, Charlotte Head, 30, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, are on trial, accused of criminal damage over the incident.

Corner, a former linguistics and philosophy student at Oxford University, faces a further charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Sgt Evans, which he denies.

In his evidence, Corner told jurors the intention of the raid was to “shut Elbit down” so it could no longer make weapons from the site.

Asked by defence barrister Tom Wainwright what he intended to do on the day of the incident, he said: “We intended to destroy weapons and things needed to make weapons which we believed were going to be used to cause death and destruction.”

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A female police officer was involved in the incident (stock photo). (Image: Newsquest Archive)

Asked what he thought the weapons were being used for, he said: “To cause death and devastation. Kill people, injure people.”

Jurors previously heard that Corner hit Sgt Evans in the back with the sledgehammer as she was on her knees trying to arrest Rogers.

Mr Wainwright asked the defendant why he swung the sledgehammer at the officer, and he replied: “To protect. I heard someone screaming… and I thought she was being seriously hurt by security.”

The barrister asked Corner what he had hoped to achieve in “bringing the sledgehammer down in the way you did”.

In response, he said: “To protect her.”

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He added: “I would never want to seriously hurt anyone.”

The court previously heard that Sgt Evans suffered a fractured spine when Corner hit her with the sledgehammer.

Corner was sprayed “straight in the face” with an incapacitant after police arrived at the factory, he told jurors.

He said: “I immediately couldn’t open my eyes or see. Luckily, I could walk away and not hit anything, but there was just all-consuming pain in my face.”

He told the court the organisers of the action told participants “we wouldn’t have to worry” about security guards during the demonstration.

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The court heard that Corner discovered Palestine Action in 2020 after coming across a video of the group on YouTube.

Mr Wainwright asked him: “What did you know about the type of action they carried out?”

Corner said: “I knew that they would go to these arms factories and occupy them and destroy weapons and other things inside them.”

Mr Wainwright asked him: “So far as you were aware, did the action involve violence to people?”

In response, Corner said: “No.”

Jurors were previously told that the defendants allegedly crashed into shutters outside the factory in a prison van, which was driven by Head and used “as a battering ram”.

Once inside, they used sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy computers, drones and other equipment, and sprayed the walls and floor with red paint using fire extinguishers, the court heard.

The defendants deny all charges, and the trial continues.