Private school to close after 106 years

A private school which opened more than 100 years ago has announced it will close at the end of the academic year due to financial issues.

About 380 children will have to find someone else to study when Rendcomb College near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, shuts this summer. Leaders said falling pupil numbers and the economic situation have made it financially unviable to keep the site open.

Somerset's Royal High School Bath, a private day and boarding school for girls, also announced this month it will close its nursery to Year 4 classes.

Paul Hodgkinson, Cotswold District Council councillor, said he was "shocked" by the Rendcombe closure and it will have "a big impact" on the area.

The closure comes a year after the Labour government introduced 20% VAT on school fees to pay for more state school teachers in England.

A spokesperson for Rendcomb College, which opened in 1920, said the reality is that current and projected pupil numbers do not make the school financially viable in the future.

They said leaders had explored "every other feasible option" including mergers and other forms of funding, and will now focus on supporting its pupils in finding places at other schools, and finding posts elsewhere for its staff.

Hodgkinson, councillor for Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach, said it was going to have a big impact on the village, shop and post office.

"Also, lots of the homes in the village are owned by school staff, so it's going to have a real impact on the wider community," he added.

Christian San José, headmaster at Wycliffe College based in Stonehouse, said the school is "in a position to be able to offer places in all year groups" to Rendcomb pupils.

Leaders of Royal High School Bath, where Dame Mary Berry attended, announced this month it will become one site.

Its Year 5 and 6 pupils will move to the senior school campus, and provision for nursery to Year 4 pupils will close at the end of the summer term.

Imogen Puddock, chair of governors, said: "This decision safeguards the future of the school and enhances the experience for generations of girls to come."

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