Private school for sale a year after closure

A private school which closed last year has gone up for sale for an undisclosed price.

Moorlands School on Fox Hill Drive, Leeds, which educated children aged two to 11, shut in December, citing VAT on fees and rising budgets as contributing factors.

The building was originally the home of the Tetley brewing family before Moorlands moved in in the 1960s.

An advert on property website Rightmove states the 3.62-acre (1.47-hectare) site, which comprises a Victorian house, sports hall and swimming pool, offered "significant potential for residential-led redevelopment".

The former school, which was founded in 1898 and was originally on Otley Road, is located in the suburb of Weetwood, about 3.8 miles (6km) north of Leeds city centre.

According to agents Newmark Industrial, who are marketing the property, the site features approximately 31,017 sq ft of accommodation and "extensive" landscaped grounds.

The asking price is listed as "POA", meaning prospective buyers must contact the agent for details.

"Moorlands School presents a rare opportunity to acquire a substantial freehold site within one of north Leeds' most established and affluent residential locations," the sale catalogue said.

"The property comprises a former independent preparatory school arranged around an attractive late 19th century principal building, together with ancillary sports and leisure facilities and extensive grounds."

Newmark added that the site was considered suitable for "a range of uses", including education, residential, retirement living and specialist care, subject to the necessary planning consents.

Fox Hill was built in the 1860s for the Tetleys, who lived there until the 1930s, after which is became a country club and restaurant before Moorlands School bought it. Newer housing was built in the original grounds after the Tetleys left.

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