Exclusive:Three heads exit top independent school after Qatari-funded takeover
Glenalmond College is known as the ‘Eton of the north’ but parents have grave concerns about its future following a Qatari-funded takeover
Three head teachers and 16 trustees have stood down from prestigious Glenalmond College just a year after investment by a high-profile Qatari.
It was revealed in June last year that the 179-year-old Episcopalian boarding school is now in the hands of 35 Education, which styles itself as “a philanthropic education enterprise”.
The new investor is a joint venture between Professor Basak Akdemir, a Turkish academic and businesswoman, and Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah, who served as Qatari deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister and has links to the country’s royal family.
Now a series of "troubling developments" at the institution, which was founded by William Gladstone, have raised serious concerns among parents.
One, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “Glenalmond is a vital piece in the jigsaw of Scottish independent education and our fear is that it is not being correctly stewarded and cared for.
“There is a disconnect between the values and ethos of the school and the impact the new management would appear to be having on the staff.”
Qatari-based educational consultancy ACES has been brought in to run the school but parents claims there has been almost no communication around the basis for the appointment, the cost of the appointment or its purpose.
“Aces was brought in and has become more heavily involved in the operational running of the school,” a parent said.
“On what contractual basis, and at what cost? Nobody knows, because it’s never been made clear.”
The OSCR returns for 2024/25 are almost four months overdue for both Glenalmond College and Craigclowan, its associated prep school.
Accounts for the College’s subsidiary trading company are also overdue.
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Accounts from 2024 show the school at a £2 million loss.
Parents told Scotland on Sunday they are concerned that this is the situation just a year after the multi-million pound deal with 35 Education.
At the time of the deal announcement, Prof Akdemir said a generous investment would bring Glenalmond “up to standard” over the next two to three years.
She also announced plans to open a chain of Glenalmond Colleges across the world.
Companies House filings show that Glenalmond saw 16 trustee resignations last year.
Some 14 of these occurred in June 2025 at the same time Basak Akdemir and her husband were appointed as corporate trustees.
Lucy Elphinstone, the then-Warden of the school, championed the involvement of 35 Education but insiders say the relationship soured and she stood down in September last year.
Three Wardens - the term the school uses for its head teachers - have resigned since June 2025, losing the school its prestigious membership of the Heads’ Conference ( HMC) , an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools.
Much-vaunted deals with Chelsea FC and the Said Business School to run summer schools at Glenalmond fell through with parents further concerned about the financial and reputational cost. The website for the summer school now merely reads “Site Disabled”.
Parents who spoke to Scotland on Sunday said that Glenalmond , which has a £14m turnover, should attract governance concerns, particularly around independence, conflicts of interest, and effective oversight.
One said: “It is hard to see the strategic plan for the school - deals are being signed and then dropped, the overseas expansion seems to devalue the brand of the school.
“Parents are highly unsettled by the high personnel turnover.
“Not only that, the school is a family - we care for one another and it is very difficult to form relationships then see those people leave.
“We are worried about the risk of the school not continuing as it is due to mismanagement.”
Insiders say the school was in a “pretty desperate” financial state before the Qatari investment.
Filings lodged with OSCR show Glenalmond’s expenditure for 2023/24 was £14.4 million while its income was £12.8m.
Those close to the school point out that the financial situation for many independent schools is difficult due to a mix of factors, including the introduction of VAT on fees, increases in National Insurance, the rising costs of maintaining historic buildings.
However, Glenalmond was understood to be in a particularly straitened position, say people close to the situation.
Roll numbers at the school had been falling year on year and the institution was seeking investment.
Jenny Davey, current Warden, stressed that the school community is close knit and pupils receive a high standard of education.
Mrs Davey said Glenalmond entered into partnership with 35 Education in June 2025 to “secure the future of this remarkable school” and would enable the next 180 years of teaching.
“Since June 2025, over 40 life-changing bursaries have been awarded, along with multi-million pounds of investment in the school's infrastructure, and our pupils continue to benefit from our rich and diverse curriculum in a school that is a true home from home,” she added.
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Glenalmond College is bound by a constitution, set up when the school was founded, which sets out clearly that there is a council of the college.
This was the former governing authority and included a chair, a non-executive chair, and a mixture of council members drawn from parents, former pupils, and experts in finance and law.
In recent years a corporate trustee has been set up to remove individual liability from each council member.
The council remained the corporate trustee and signed off the accounts, took strategic decisions hold regular board meetings.
When 35 Education took over, it became the corporate trustee and replaced the council with a board.
The previous council had 15 people on it but all of these members have now stepped down.
Initially, the new board consisted of Ms Elphinstone, Prof Akdemir and her husband, Ai Burak Akdemir.
Ms Elphinstone stepped down in September 2025, according to Companies House filings, and the board is now solely the husband and wife duo.
“You now have a large organisation with an annual £12m turnover being governed by related parties - a husband and wife due,” an insider said.
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