Whittle School & Studios

The company raised more than US$900 million in cash and costs born by developers of the school's campuses.[2] The goal was for much of the company's and school's leadership to come from China, India, and the United States.[3] However, many of the high profile initial hires including Jim Hawkins from Harrow, Dennis Bisgaard, who was tapped to run the Washington campus, and Rebecca Upham, who was Executive Chairwoman of the DC campus, left the organization before the start of the 2021-22 school year.

The school canceled its plans to open a location in Brooklyn in 2022 due to significant financial pressures in its initial North American campus in Washington D.C., which was subject to liens from several contractors and vendors for non-payment of invoices totaling over $35 million.[4][5] The company also faced a lawsuit in New York courts from Zurich Insurance company alleging non payment of Workers' Compensation premiums of approximately $120,000.

Students will, according to Whittle, be prodded into boarding for two years at an international campus to help with the school's goal of having students who speak at least two languages.[2] The school also claims it has "hands-on, personalized learning".[3]

The school has two campuses, in Washington, D.C. and Shenzhen, China.[6] The Washington D.C. campus has been sued by several vendors, including Turner Construction, who were involved in the construction, marketing and ongoing service of the campus alleging non payment for services rendered, with judgments against the school totaling in excess of $35 million. Whittle's CEO acknowledged the payment delays in November 2021 in an interview with the Washington Business Journal.[7][4]

The school has run into significant financial difficulties. Lawsuits from various vendors including Turner Construction, Arup, Children's National Hospital, Sterling Infosystems, Zurich American Insurance Company and K&S Management and Supply have been filed in DC courts and other jurisdictions alleging over $35 million in non payment on outstanding invoices.[8] In November 2021, Whittle's CEO acknowledged these claims and indicated that the school planned to make payment on the outstanding amounts, but the number of claims and liens has continued to climb in early 2022.

The building the school is housed in is subject to a foreclosure auction scheduled for March 24, 2022, by Alex Cooper Auctioneers. The foreclosure relates to non performance on a construction loan of $162.4 million taken on by the landlord to fund the Renzo Piano designed improvements requested by Whittle.[9]

In March 2021, Whittle indicated that it was in the process of finalizing a merger with the Varkey Education Group, that would provide significant new capital to the school and allow it to pay prior creditors. The transaction was expected to be completed prior to the start of the 2021-22 school year.[10] However the merger was never consummated and the school continues to operate on a standalone basis in Washington.