Scientology school gets £200k taxpayer handout from Covid support scheme

27 May 2023 , 17:26

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Church of Scientology’s UK HQ (Image: Andrew Hasson/REX/Shutterstock)

A private Scientology school was handed £200,000 of Government cash, accounts show.

The charity trust running Greenfields School, which takes pupils aged 3-18 and charges fees of up to £29,000, was handed £144,540 and £60,174 in grants from 2019 to 2021.

Scientology became famous for attracting Hollywood stars including John Travolta and Tom Cruise. Followers believe people are immortal spiritual beings who have forgotten their true nature.

Greenfields, which is close to the Church of Scientology’s UK HQ in West Sussex, uses founder and science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard’s teaching methods in classes.

John Sweeney, author of book The Church of Fear, said: “It’s bonkers for the British taxpayer to fund a charity running a school that thinks the late conman L Ron Hubbard has got anything to teach anybody, let alone children.”

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Tom Cruise is a member of the church (Getty Images)

Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard (Hulton Archive)

Greenfields School said that, like other independent schools, it had to furlough staff in the pandemic and stay open for key workers’ children.

A spokesman added: “We have parents and staff who are both Scientologists and non-Scientologists. We are not a religious school.”

A Government spokesman said: “Our Covid support schemes were implemented at unprecedented speed to protect millions of jobs and businesses.”

Simon Murphy