Muslim school facing closure

7:31pm Friday 8th August 2008

Oxford's only Muslim faith school is facing closure as it cannot raise the money to buy its site.

The Iqra School, based at the Lawn Upton building in Littlemore, successfully bid to buy the premises from the Diocese of Oxford and the county council, last November.

Having agreed a fee of £2.2m, the trust that runs the all-girls secondary school paid a £200,000 deposit and had until July 31 this year to pay the remaining £2m.

But a slump in the economy is being blamed after the school failed to raise the required cash. Dr Hojjat Ramzy, chairman of the trustees, said it now had four weeks to come up with the money or face closure.

He said: "Many people promised us funds, but can't afford to give as much as we had hoped. All the money we have been raising has been put back into the school to keep it going and pay teachers.

"We have 140 pupils and their education is the most important thing, but time is running out - and, if we do not have this money soon, they will have to start looking for new schools."

The trust is now incurring charges of £450 a day to the diocese, after it failed to meet the July 31 deadline.

Dr Ramzy said: "I am appealing to Muslims across the city and the county to help us try and raise this money. We are desperate and we want to keep the school open."