Alleyn’s taking over bits of North Bridge House

[JessyCarr]

Alleyn’s have announced they are expanding into north London - seems in fact they are taking over (or giving their name to) the Regent’s Park and Hampstead sites of North Bridge House. Seems Cognita may have some continued involvement? They don’t say what if anything will happen to NBH Canonbury:

https://www.standard.co.uk/business/elite-dulwich-school-alleyns-to-open-offshoots-north-of-the-rive-for-first-time-in-400-year-history-b1213399.html

Cognite already own NBS, it's a re-brand using the Alleyns name.
Cognita did the same to create Brighton College Prep Kensington in SW7 with Brighton College.

Seems to me an odd decision by Alleyn’s - to give their name and reputation to schools they don’t own, and which are on rather challenging sites - but I guess they’ve done a deal that suits their purposes.

Yes it must be a revenue stream for A and some kind of economy of scale with cognita otherwise Brighton College wouldn't have done it either.
For parents, a mixed secondary in central London is always welcome.

How would it work? As in how does each group benefit financially?

@GretchenWienersHair , it would be interesting to know, maybe someone will come along and update.

As far as I am aware NBH Cannonbury isn’t going to be renamed / take on the Alleyn’s curriculum. I am hypothising that Congnita/Alleyn’s don’t see the catchment around that school as appealing as the other NBH schools which are much closer to more academic North London ones (Highgate etc) which they can hopefully entice people from.

I wonder what the Alleyn’s reputation will be in a few years time if the north London schools are not delivering the academic results Alleyn’s does.

It does leave a bit of a black hole around that area for good mid-tier academic secondary schools I think, which is a shame as not everyone wants a Highgate type school for their child (and not every child is super academic!)

i think a lot of named schools already have this model with their overseas out posts (like Brighton, Dulwich, NCLS in places like Dubai and Singapore).

because this stuff fascinates me have done a bit of digging on how Brighton college to it.

They seem to have two income streams -

they earn money for providing guidance and advice to partner schools across the world (last made up accounts for this separate legal non charitable entity it appears revenue is £2.2m). These schools are owned by other companies like Cognita (NBH’s owners) who own the Brighton college Prep school in London and the school in Singapore.

Then Brighton college itself also earns about £4m income from the international schools (again from the last accounts).

So not a huge amount compared to their reserves ( but I guess it helps diversify income streams and enhances reputation for them in an increasingly competitive market.

And the firms like Cognita are keen as it gives them a head start in reputation for filling slots, and also outside the UK access to experienced advisors / uk curriculum already to a high standard meaning they can charge a premium and make a very healthy ROI.

So Cognita are essentially paying them for their guidance and branding at NBH as a sort of marketing tool?

Yes appears so, it’s hard to say exactly what the economic model will be for this partnership but it looks like a pretty standard model Cognita follow.

I think there will be a quite a bit more of this stuff over the next decade as schools are forced to close or to expand/diversify to survive.

i can see the attraction for Cognita. Benefit from a venerable brand which detracts attention from your for-profit model.

I imagine the attraction for Alleyn’s must be a very chunky annual licence fee.

NBH parent here
Cognita seem to be paying to invest in facilities at the Regents Park site and the Hampstead site, while Alleyn’s is providing the brand, curriculum etc
Lots of unanswered questions on impact on school values and approach currently. As someone said upthread, not every child needs a highly academic environment.
Feels like the message to NBH parents is this is just a name change, whereas the publicity material Alleyn’s has put out sounds like a school takeover. Very confusing for current parents. Not heard yet what message staff have received.
NBH Canonbury has excellent GSG review, and certainly differentiated from Hamsptead. I hope it doesn’t get lost in all this change.

My children have really thrived since they moved to NBH so I hope this doesn’t disturb that.

That must be very unsettling @fridaseyebrows. We also know families who have chosen NBH for its particular characteristics. Must be hard for staff, too, to know what is ahead for them.

Can someone please spell out the down side for me? cause I don't see it. Getting better education is the reason why we are sending our children to private schools to begin with. If Alleyn can contribute with that and Cognita will contribute in other ways. Why isnt it a win-win? I am really curious (my daughter is in NBH Hampsteda BTW)

I think it will be positive for current students and possible for the north London co-ed set.

Won’t be positive for the selectives in north London are more competition now for the brighter kids.

It’s largely going to be negative for all the parents who don’t seek a more academic school for their children as the indies who support these children are dwindling (Portland place closed, this will become not an option in a few years…)

If current NBH parents were expecting a more relaxed, holistic, or less academically intense all-through experience, then a shift towards Alleyn’s more results-driven, high-standard approach could indeed be a downside for them. Alleyn’s will likely want to maintain its academic reputation, which could lead to changes in teaching methods, expectations, and overall school culture.

Got it, thank you. So overall you believe that the level of NBH will come up as a result of this transition which in my opinion is good as I thought it should improve in this aspect.

Clear, thank you!

Personally I think it is much too soon to tell what difference this will make, and when. Too much detail is shrouded in the confidential agreement between Alleyn’s and Cognita. Will Alleyn’s have any say in the hiring and firing of staff? Or in admissions standards for pupils? What are the KPIs which Alleyn’s will be entitled to receive from Cognita in order to monitor whether the value of their brand is being protected/enhanced?

All commercially sensitive stuff, and rightly confidential. But if you have the same head, same staff and same pupil intake then it’s not obvious how the school repositions itself with just a new name and a new uniform. Curriculum changes are unlikely to be earth-shattering when the public exams at the end remain the same. So what is really going to change? It will be interesting to see.

Academic results provide a tangible metric for parents to assess a school’s performance, while aspects like pastoral care, ethos, and culture are more experiential. For independent schools, where fees are significant, parents naturally expect strong outcomes—whether that’s in terms of academic success, university placements, or overall student development. Schools that can demonstrate clear value through both results and a well-rounded education will always be more attractive to families making these investment decisions.

Feels like a private equity brand building exercise that will have little effect on the school results

Does anyone have any further thoughts on this? Just heard about this update and am intrigued as the location would be great for us, but DS was accepted at a nice prep in hampstead for reception and there’s lots of unknowns here. Commute will not be the easiest for us, but doable. Thanks!

Just following up on this—has anyone attended one of the information days? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

I did- I felt it was the same tour as I got when it was Northbridge house. The head teacher, teachers, annd students are not changing. I asked teachers what would be different and they said that they were unsure, maybe some access to the Alleyns curriculum and a bit of investment in the facilities. I felt most change is a little bit of construction. I felt that it’s a bit too soon to know what the real change will be, if any. Probably in a few years we will see more. I would note they didn’t mention sports once. It seems much more arts focused. If that’s important to you!