It is with great sadness that the Board of Trustees today confirm that it has made the difficult decision that the operations of Bishop Challoner School will cease after the current academic year ends on 4 July 2025.

This has been an incredibly difficult decision, which the school made every effort to avoid. Despite the dedicated efforts of the school’s leadership and staff, Bishop Challoner School has been impacted by the broader increasingly challenging environment for schools.  With falling birth rates, rising living costs and more recently the impact of VAT on school fees the school has seen a significant decline in pupil numbers.  Meanwhile, its operating costs have risen significantly over recent years and further impacted by the recent removal of rates relief and the statutory increase in employer’s National Insurance.  Together, these factors have placed significant strain on the school’s financial sustainability.

The very difficult decision to close comes after an extensive search for new investment and sources of revenue, together with potential merger partners.  This, unfortunately, did not produce a viable outcome and, having sought advice from both legal and insolvency practitioners, the conclusion is therefore there is no viable alternative but to close.

The decision has therefore been made to close the school at the end of the current academic year, 4 July, rather than in the Autumn term, so parents have time to find alternative schools before the start of the next academic year. Ongoing teaching at the school will continue until the end of term in an attempt to minimise disruption to students.  The school will close after the exam period, so none of the Bishop Challoner School pupils’ exams will be impacted. Closing in the summer also gives our dedicated and hardworking staff more time to seek employment elsewhere.

FRP Advisory has been engaged to support a managed wind-down of the school and a liquidator will be appointed following the end of term to oversee the closure.

 Mrs P Colling, Chair of Trustees, said:

"This is a very difficult time for our parents, pupils and staff.

We are saddened that, despite our best efforts, the school has to close.

The Board of Trustees is immensely proud of Bishop Challoner School's successes over many years and we are especially grateful to our staff who have always put the interests of our pupils first. They are a loyal and dedicated staff.

The Trustees and the senior leadership team at the school are working closely with parents to help identify places in schools so our pupils continue to receive the high-quality education they deserve. We have written to the parents of our school, outlining the support available and a meeting will be held for parents to discuss the situation further. We will also provide support for our staff, to help them find roles elsewhere.

We are acutely aware of the impact this decision has on our young students. Bishop Challoner is a school that has built its reputation on outstanding pastoral care and this makes the decision all the harder. 

Ends

Please note: No further comment or interview requests will be granted.