Galaxy Global Schools enter administration after abrupt closures

Durham Education Limited and Ruthin Education Limited have entered administration after prolonged financial pressure led to the closure of two historic independent schools owned by Galaxy Global Education Group.

Mark Hodgett and Philip Watkins of FRP Advisory were appointed joint administrators of Durham Education, which traded as Durham High School, on 6 July 2026. Philip Watkins and Simon Farr, also of FRP, were appointed joint administrators of Ruthin Education, the operator of Ruthin School, the same day.

Both schools had stopped operating before the appointments. Durham High closed on 2 July, bringing an end to more than 140 years of education in the North East, while Ruthin School closed after completing its academic year on 1 July.

Most employees at the schools have been made redundant (about 140 at Ruthin alone). Small teams have been retained to support pupils and families, administer summer examination results and complete the wind-down. The administrators are helping affected staff make claims through the government’s Redundancy Payments Service.

Durham High was founded in 1884 and had 281 pupils when its closure was announced. Ruthin School, a co-educational day and boarding school in Denbighshire, traces its history to 1284. An October 2024 inspection report (described here) recorded 239 pupils at Ruthin, more than half of whom were boarders. About 45% received scholarships or bursaries, while 141 pupils spoke English as an additional language. Almost three-quarters were from a minority ethnic background, over half of whom were Chinese.

The operating companies were separate members of China-founded Galaxy Global Education’s UK schools portfolio. Ruthin Education was incorporated in February 2023 and acquired the Welsh school through a newly formed entity. Durham Education was incorporated in September 2024 and had not yet filed its first statutory accounts when it entered administration.

Galaxy Global had expanded its portfolio to include Durham High, Ruthin School, Malvern St James and Plymouth College in 2024. Three of those schools have now closed, with Malvern St James having previously announced that it would shut at the end of the academic year.

The group said it explored partnerships and other options to preserve Durham High and Ruthin School but could not establish financially sustainable operating models.