Longacre School Closing

[AndreaKnowsBest]

Is it true that Longacre is closing? Wasn't it literally just bought by a group?

Can’t see the residents of Shamley Green being delighted at the site being redeveloped. Terrible for the staff.

No state schools around at all?
93% of pupils seem to attend one of those.

We went through the same experience a few weeks ago when our children’s independent school closed and left us struggling to find a suitable prep school locally, so I completely understand how unsettling and overwhelming it can feel trying to find the right new setting. We visited a few of the local prep schools and, in the end, felt that Pennthorpe was the best fit for our family. The children had played quite a few fixtures at the school and had always expressed how much they enjoyed visiting. The atmosphere was so warm and welcoming, and the children just seemed genuinely happy. The recent partnership with Hurst also gave us a huge boost of confidence — it felt like an extra layer of stability and a really exciting step for the school. I’d definitely recommend considering Pennthorpe if you’re still exploring options. It offers a genuinely holistic approach to education and a strong sense of the feeling that every child is both celebrated and challenged as an individual. We walked away knowing it was the right place for our children and would recommend those in a similar position to reach out. They were also super informative and helpful even when we were still unsure of our final decision.

Terrible. The Longacre staff are amazing. It is also heartbreaking for the children who love their school.

I wouldn’t count on Barrow Hills / King Edwards Witley winning out with streams of new pupils from Longacre, I and many others would not touch them with a barge pole after what they have done. The way Bridewell has behaved is outrageous. Also their long term projections can’t be great if this is their course of action. Personally I would be very concerned about the long term viability of Barrow Hills and King Edwards Witley ...

And presumably, taking the logic in your argument, the Head of Longacre has told anyone who has met him in the last few months that the school is in a terrible financial state and unlikely to survive?! My children attend Farlington and I like the school. I have friends who have children and DoK and at Longacre. No one wants to see a school struggle, and it is a shame so many are, but I just want the best education for my children.

It’s a turbulent time for the independent sector. So sad for families and staff at Longacre. I however disagree with a comment further up thread about Dok. There is some movement, but to say dwindling is an unfair comment to make on a public forum. It’s a wonderful school which is lead well and it’s not owned by some bigger company that will sell it off to developers. I have very happy kids there.

On your analysis should Bridewell just left it alone and let it fail? I’m not sure Bridewell is responsible for the financial position Longacre found itself in - the medium term stats on pupil numbers for Longacre don’t lie nor do the pressure preps are under for all the well rehearsed reasons. A number of folks could have come in for Longacre but didn’t offer a better deal?Objectively Bridewell is at least offering a safety net of places for kids which a number of closed private schools in have not so parents can be assured their kids have a place somewhere in what are not ideal circumstances of course. Most of all I feel for the children, but without trying to sound harsh, it takes a strong appetite to take on a loss making school/ business and sometimes it’s too much schools/ businesses fail however much we love them (love doesn’t keep the lights on!)

Crikey! I rarely bother to comment, but this sounds like you are a bit too invested in Pennthorpe - you should ask for a job in their marketing department, unless you're already there.

I think this sort of rumour mongering is very unkind. Just go and look round a school, check their accounts if worried and make an informed decision. Every schools accounts are public so do your own due diligence and don't listen to gossip.

Disagree. When Bridewell merged with Longacre, it was not failing. The premise for the merger was to future-proof the school not to come in as a white knight to rescue it. Bridewell presented themselves as a force for good / stability, willing and able to invest in the school to grow and develop the school to ensure its long term future. Bridewell was chosen and the merger was undertaken on that basis. During the last year they haven’t invested in infrastructure or employed strategies / invested in activities to improve student numbers. Bridewell gained financially from the merger and stand to gain even more when they sell it off. Great for Bridewell, awful for Longacre pupils, families and teachers.

For us, going through the process felt like a real minefield, and we only ever intended to share our own experience to support others who may be feeling the same. It’s horrible to be in the dark when it comes to your children’s education, and if our experience can help even one family feel a bit more reassured, then that’s all we were trying to do.

There was absolutely no intention to spread rumours or cause concern — simply to offer perspective from someone who has been through it. I can only speak of the school we felt was right for us and to offer it an an option to others who have been in our shoes.

Thank you for your productive comment - I am sure others will find it useful!

Ok - what’s good about this forum is we can agree to disagree- and im not talking failing educational standards - I’m talking looking at the filed charity accounts and the net debt position and/ or there is a question for the governors who approved the merger around the assurances they secured (or given lack of commercial leverage were practically able to). If Longacre were in a strong position and minded to merge why weren’t the governors able to obtain stronger/ legally binding commitments for investment or otherwise able to guard against actions or omissions adverse to Longacre? I’m sure they took legal and professional advice around the merger so my only thought is that they had no real bargaining position…

This sounds so stressful for you and the children, which school was it that closed? I dont recall a prep school in that vicinity closing recently? I've heard the year 7 and 8s at Pennthorpe may be moved to Hurst, which makes sense as the classes are so small. Glad you are now happy there though.

It is extremely sad that this is what is happening but as many others have said, visit schools, talk to the Head's and check financials. It's a big decision and needs to be the correct one.

Out of curiosity, were you at Belmont? Just not aware of another school closing locally? I heard lots went to Pennthorpe and settled well.

Can anyone direct me to the published accounts for Farlington? I can’t find them?

They were and we initially enrolled them elsewhere, I wont mention where, but sadly the school was just not right for the children and there was alot of discussion around its stability and the future, and so we again found ourselves back at square one.

Its a really challenging time for all Ind schools, and the children both enrolled, and at a loss due to closure. It is worth visiting the schools and speaking to the staff and students. Pennthorpe just ticked all the boxes for us and so I thought sharing our journey would benefit anyone looking for options. Good Luck to anyone who is currently working through such challenging times.

Can’t see the residents of Shamley Green being delighted at the site being redeveloped. Terrible for the staff.

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@Surreyfoxmum

Whats that, doesnt work

Sorry, it does for me. It's a link to the latest accounts of Farlington School Ltd from Companies House, in answer to the poster who asked for them.

Wow. So Farlington owes £6.5m in the next year and has an overall value of minus £2m? If I have interpreted this correctly it has just increased my anxiety.

As a parent at Longacre I feel that the school has degraded since the take over not improved. Following the merger I saw no sharing of resources (apart from my daughter has had half a term of swimming). There has been less marketing of the school and in fact the fees for Longacre are higher than Barrow Hills. Surely the trust would lower the fees for the struggling school.

The school was literally a happy place where the children were encouraged to be children and improvement was celebrated. The ethos was really unique and could have been something they leaned into to make a real USP. There are lots of academic private schools and not many that deal with those that are stifled by pressure or need a little bit more freedom or support. It didn't appear to fit with King Edwards of Witley or Barrow Hills.

I think there will be a lot more questions asked of the people who led this deal and why in just a year we see Longacre shutting. It seems like Longacre would have been in a stronger position on its own and fighting for its own values. It feels like the merger was a way to acquire more pupils and assets to help 2 of the schools.

More questions need to be asked and other schools should be wary of these types of mergers.

What happens when there is a takeover like this? Did Bridewell aquire everything like the land ownership? If so can they sell the land on to a developer?

Wouldn't you think a head teacher that was running a school that seemed to nose dive spectacularly wouldn't be appointed by the same trust to run one of their other schools. Rewarding failure makes me suspicious. Was this their plan all along. I wouldn't send my child to Barrow Hills under their watch.

I’m watching this very closely. My DC are at Aldro who are still independent but rumour is that the Head has had various conversations with a number of merger options but none agreed so far. (I’m not sure how true that is). But looking at this, I’m praying that they don’t go down that route.
What makes sense for Aldro would be for Charterhouse to absorb them, but then I wonder if Aldro would be closed in favour to inflate the numbers for Edgeborough.
It truly is such an unsettling time at the moment. I just hope that none of the children at Longacre are carrying the stress and worry that their parents will be. Although sadly they probably can’t help but be affected.

Bridewell and Longacre’s accounts make interesting reading.

NB Discussions about the merger started in Autumn 2024 with merger completion in January 2025.

As of the year ending July 2024, Longacre had £5million in their general fund and £2million in cash.

Bridewell’s accounts for the year ending July 2024 show that they were £6.6 million overdrawn and were -£860,000 for the year.

There are serious questions which need to be asked.