Godolphin School, which was founded in 1726 and was opened in 1784, has announced that it will be closing its prep school at the end of the current academic year.
The senior section of the private school, on Milford Hill, will join with Chafyn Grove School – which is also joining the United Learning group.
The group took over Godolphin last year, as it was announced that Godolphin will accept boys from September 2025 for the first time in its history.
In a letter seen by the Journal dated Wednesday, January 8, Chafyn Grove School said: “We intend that the school will join United Learning at Easter and, from September, Godolphin will be closing its Prep School and its pupils will all be offered places at Chafyn Grove.
“In the same way, at the appropriate time, all Chafyn Grove pupils will automatically be entitled to a place at Godolphin.
“Pupils currently in Year 6 (and Year 7) will be able to continue at Chafyn Grove for Years 7 and 8 but our plans to extend our provision all the way through to Year 11 now extend through to A level across the two schools. Current Year 5 and below would start Year 7 at the Godolphin site.”
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The letter adds: “The future for stand-alone Prep Schools is particularly precarious at present; not only due to the introduction of VAT on fees but also in terms of ensuring we remain at the cutting edge in terms of staff development, health and safety, safeguarding and education policy.
“By joining a highly successful and experienced group of schools we are future-proofing Chafyn Grove for the challenges of the years ahead whilst also giving certainty and surety to our existing families.”
Simon Head (Image: Contributed)Sarah McQuillen, the chair of governors, and Simon Head, the headmaster, also state in the letter that over time the two schools will look at what shared back-office functions are possible “to ensure economies of scale and resource”, with savings used to minimise the impact on families of the introduction of VAT.
Chafyn Grove will also be conducting a “necessary restructuring of the educational team at the school” so that it can “realistically serve” the number of pupils it has now and expect in the future.
In another letter seen by the Journal, United Learning it will be meeting parents on January 30 to talk about the plans, and moved to reassure parents that Chafyn Grove will retain its own identity and character as a school.
Both Godolphin and Chafyn Grove have been contacted for comment.