By a thisiscostablanca correspondent
Some 60 schoolchildren between 3 and 16 years of age have been left without a school after the forced closure by the authorities of the bilingual English / Spanish school Lady of Elche in the Peña de las Aguilas in Elche.  The school had been operating illegally for a month.

The school which is owned by the homosexual British couple Tony and Barrie Drewitt-Barlow was started in response to their own twins being forced out of a bilingual school in Torrevieja last February.  The children were discriminated against and the school management found they could not support the Drewitt-Barlows.

The millionaire couple decided that the best option was to open their own school in their newly adopted home town of Elche.  The concept of the school was to educate children in an environment of tolerance and without any type of discrimination.

However last week police belonging to the Administrative Unit of the Town of Elche paid them a visit.  The police requested the appropriate papers relating to the opening of an educational centre including the licence to operate as a business.  The owners and the Head of Studies, Andrés Boulind, were amazed that the town hall needed any papers.

According to Boulind all the paperwork including the building Project had been left in the hands of a gestor in Benidorm. They believed that he had carried out all the necessary administrative checks.  They only discovered last week that papers had not been presented.
 
Andrés Boulind was reported yesterday to say that they always wanted to work within the law.  As a result the Drewitt-Barlow asked for and had a meeting with the person responsible for opening of businesses in Elche, Federico Buyolo.

The meeting resulted in the formal presentation of the closure of the school for a lack of all the paperwork necessary to open the school.  Buyolo insisted that the town hall simply wanted ensure the safety of the children and that the building met with all the requirements such as evacuation plans etc.

It is curious that a head of studies, presumably with experience, would not know to look for the correct paperwork before opening the school to the public.  Almost anyone that has started any type of is aware of the need for a licence to operate and open a business.  The couple own gay hotel in Benidorm that has been open for some time.