Our Lady’s Abingdon, in Radley Road, was forced to close permanently for financial reasons, according to its governors, who sent letters to parents in August alerting them to the news.

The Statement of Affairs submitted to Companies House revealed Our Lady’s Abingdon Trustees Ltd racked up debts of £1,555,596 owed to 121 company creditors.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire private school to be sold this summer

Security measures were put in place to protect the buildings and there was uncertainty about what would happen to the buildings in the long-term, and its facilities, including a swimming pool, and surrounding playing fields.

Now it is understood the buildings are expected to be sold this summer by the owners, the Institute of Our Lady of Mercy.

At the end of last year, a team of liquidators hired auctioneers Wyles Hardy to sell school equipment including the school’s fleet of minibuses.

Our Lady’s Abingdon (Image: Contributed)

The Hemel Hempstead firm, machinery and business asset valuers and auctioneers, staged the Our Lady’s Abingdon auction in November last year, and last month provided an update on the sale, although it did not reveal how much the auction raised.

A statement from Wyles Hardy said: “Following sustained financial pressures and the recent introduction of VAT on school fees pupil numbers declined significantly, leading to the school’s closure in August 2025.

“Acting on behalf of the appointed insolvency practitioners we delivered specialist valuation, marketing and asset disposal services as part of the process.

“Our instruction covered a broad and diverse asset base across multiple departments, including design and technology, domestic science and music, as well as plant and machinery, grounds care equipment and the school’s fleet of minibuses.”

Our Lady’s Abingdon (Image: Contributed)

A spokesperson for the Institute of Our Lady of Mercy said in March: “Over the last six months, following the handover of the site from the liquidator, we have been working diligently to both clear and secure the Our Lady’s Abingdon site, as well as reflect on how best the site can be used moving forward.

“Meetings are ongoing about the site’s future, taking into account our obligations as a charity, and we are hopeful to be in a position to share more information in the early part of the summer.”  

Our Lady’s Abingdon (Image: Our Lady’s Abingdon)

Following the closure announcement, schools across the county rallied to find places for more than 300 pupils.

In November, Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran wrote to education secretary Bridget Phillipson, urging the Department for Education to do more to protect families affected by sudden school closures.

Ms Moran said at the time: “Going forwards, there must be earlier dialogue between the local authorities and schools to ensure that pupils and parents’ interests are the number one priority.”

Blur guitarist Alex James, who lives on a 200‑acre dairy farm in Kingham near Chipping Norton, is no stranger to festivals.

As well as playing many with the band, he also hosts The Big Feastival on his land every August bank holiday, where he and his family run a cheese‑making operation.

This is a three‑day family‑friendly food and music festival that brings Michelin‑starred chefs, big‑name bands and tens of thousands of visitors to the site.

READ MORE: David Beckham tells Victoria to ‘back off’ after ‘secret addiction’ row

Alex James at The Big Feastival. (Image: The Big Feastival)

Now, Mr James has hit out at the globally popular Glastonbury Festival, questioning the hype around the famous Worthy Farm weekender in a candid new chat with The Times.

He argued that, in his view, there are plenty of European festivals that outshine Glasto but never seem to attract the same level of adoration as the sprawling Somerset event, which covers hundreds of acres.

“You’d think it’s the only festival in the world,” he shared, describing Glastonbury as “a gory drugs bender” when set against more “underrated” gatherings such as Denmark’s Roskilde.

Singing the praises of the Danish festival, he went on: “Roskilde’s got amazing food because it’s Denmark, it’s just really civilised and the toilets are nice.

“It’s a wonderful, magical, Hans Christian Andersen fairytale of an event.”

READ MORE: Arabella Stanton will ‘be better as Hermione’ than Emma Watson

Glastonbury Festival. (Image: Newsquest)

Despite his sharp words, Blur have played Glastonbury’s stages on several occasions in the past few decades.

These shows over the years include an early slot on the NME Stage back in 1992 and headline performances in both 1998 and 2009.

Glastonbury drew around 210,000 people to Worthy Farm in 2024, cementing its status as one of the biggest music festivals in the world.

The event runs over five days, with the most recent edition taking place from 26 to 30 June 2024.

Although Glastonbury is usually held annually, organisers periodically schedule “fallow years” to allow the site to recover, with 2026 confirmed as the next fallow year.

Press, based in London, launched in 2013 with “a mission to bring natural & healthy nutrition to the UK”.

The online company sells everything from healthy meal plans and soups to juice cleanses and smoothies.

Its website adds: “Good nutrition has the power to change every aspect of your life and drives a positive impact for our planet.

“It can support your immune system, give you more energy, help you manage eating habits, give you clearer skin and better digestion.”

Press has a strong online following, boasting nearly 72,000 followers on Instagram, 10,000 on Facebook, and thousands more on TikTok.

Press enters administration after 13 years

After 13 years in business, Press London Ltd is now at risk of closing after entering administration.

Marco Piacquadio and Rachel Elizabeth Ennis from FTS Recovery Limited were recently appointed administrators, according to Companies House.

Press has been contacted for comment.

What happens when a company goes into administration?

When a company enters administration, it means that it is unable to pay expenses, debts, or other liabilities, according to SquareUp.com.

Companies House adds: “When a company goes into administration, they have entered a legal process (under the Insolvency Act 1986) with the aim of achieving one of the statutory objectives of an administration. This may be to rescue a viable business that is insolvent due to cashflow problems.

“An appointment of an administrator (a licensed insolvency practitioner) will be made by directors, a creditor or the court to fulfil the administration process.”

A statutory moratorium is put in place once a company enters administration, giving it “breathing space” to allow for financial restructuring plans to be drawn up free from creditor enforcement actions.

A company can continue to trade while in administration, but daily management and control are handed over to the administrators.

Companies House continues: “Within 8 weeks it is the administrators’ role to formulate administration proposals.

“Creditors are then asked to vote by a decision procedure to approve the administrators’ proposals.

“If the administration involves a sale of all or part of the company’s business, the proceeds (after the costs of the procedure) will be distributed to creditors in a statutory order of priority.”

Administration will end automatically after 12 months unless the administrator asks the court or creditors for an extension.

Through administration, a company can be:

• Rescued and passed back to the directors
• Enter liquidation
• Be dissolved

Other UK companies that have closed or entered administration/liquidation in 2026 (so far)

It has been a rough start to 2026 for the UK high street, with several other retailers entering administration and others announcing widespread store closures.

Major high street retailers LK Bennett and Claire’s both closed all their stores in April, having previously fallen into administration.

Other retailers have been forced to close stores this year, including:

Several other companies have fallen into administration, including:

Meanwhile, four UK travel companies have closed in 2026:

Luxury UK holiday company Salamander Voyages also shut down recently after entering administration.

EcoJet Airlines, billed as “the world’s first Electric Airline”, entered liquidation earlier this year after just three years, resulting in the cancellation of all planned flights.

What has a nose, wings and runs off of hydrogen? Ecojet 😎 pic.twitter.com/y8QGiBdFe2

— ecotricity (@ecotricity) July 17, 2023

UK delivery company Yodel is set to be phased out over the coming months after being acquired by InPost.

It’s also been reported that Morrisons is looking to sell some of its in-store pharmacies as it continues to cut costs.

It’s not been all bad news for the UK high street, with several major brands announcing new store openings for 2026, including Aldi, M&S, and Superdrug.

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