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Secondary education

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Original poster

Old Palace School bursaries

60 replies

Autumnchills · 14/09/2023 21:02

I noticed that Old Palace School have said on their website that they are not offering any bursaries for Sept 24 entry. Does anyone know why?? Their bursaries are funded by the Whitgift Foundation. The Foundation is still providing bursaries for Trinity and Whitgift, what gives? 🤔

OP posts:
1forward2back · 15/09/2023 23:22

Gosh I’ve just read this too. I wonder if this is a product of reduced financial security. Schools are going to struggle in this climate. Very bizarre not to offer anything at all!

Recption1 · 15/09/2023 23:49

Maybe the school may be merging with Trinity, and its getting wound down? I heard the head is leaving Old Palace too.

Trinity already have mixed 6th form, Old Palace deep pocket bursaries were always its trump card, over rivals like Croydon High.

A merger wouldn't surprise me, the Foundation keeps Whitgift school as the boarding/day boys and have a large school with the combined facilities of the schools, that would be a pretty awesome school facilities wise.

Maybe they could run it along the same lines as City maybe? A new mixed Prep school that feeds two single sex campus, but all under the Trinity brand. It would provide a direct feed for Trinity and both campus could feed into a bigger 6th form which would attract a lot of A level students locally.

Would upset a lot of current parents though I imagine.

1forward2back · 16/09/2023 13:42

I think you are right. I read that Trinity might go co-Ed from 2025 - I think on a post here. I think that they’ll close it and merge - and so not offering bursaries makes sense. Wow. It’s been there for so long. I’m

Digimoor · 21/09/2023 18:46

Just received the news that Old Palace will close in 2025
They won't be taking new children in Sept 2024 as a result
Very sad news

1forward2back · 21/09/2023 19:00

Gosh. That’s shocking.

Recption1 · 21/09/2023 20:48

Friend is very upset. It does seem very cold by Whitgift, to drop the school like that and leave 100's of girls in the lurch. Sign of the times.

Really shabby.

Digimoor · 21/09/2023 20:56

They have given 2 years notice that the school will close - I don't think that counts as leaving people in the lurch

follygirl · 21/09/2023 21:04

This post has come up on active posts.

I'm a former pupil left in 1989 so a long time ago but I have a lot of good memories. Sad news

Sweetnhappy1 · 21/09/2023 21:20

It really is leaving people in the lurch. The current year 11s need to apply for sixth forms and most sixth form open evenings have happened already.

londonmummy1966 · 21/09/2023 21:33

Digimoor · 21/09/2023 20:56

They have given 2 years notice that the school will close - I don't think that counts as leaving people in the lurch

It is leaving a lot of pupils in the lurch as a very significant proportion will have accepted places in year 7 as they have bursary funding. They have 2 years so until year 9 to find a new place but very few schools offer year 9 bursaries for girls (eg Croydon High may have a handful of places but no funding for those who need it as GDST don't offer year 9 scholarships.)

Frankly the Whitgift Foundation ought to pay those girls' school fees until the end of year 11 but they wont as they're girls and as far as Whitgift is concerned they are lesser class citizens. I'm really not surprised as I've seen the likes of Whitgift Court Trustees shaft other charities in the past.

Recption1 · 21/09/2023 21:35

Digimoor · 21/09/2023 20:56

They have given 2 years notice that the school will close - I don't think that counts as leaving people in the lurch

Of course it does.

Parents would have turned down other schools for Palace for 11+ and now have the prospect of finding an occasional place entry at another school.

Who would want to have a child starting reception at an all through school then told in 2 years the school wont exist?

Whitgift have told parents they can now pull out their girls without the usual notice - why? Because they know they've shat on them.

Digimoor · 21/09/2023 21:45

They have said if you are in receipt of a bursary and/or scholarship they will continue to fund it at another indie until GSCEs - seems a fair offer to me
The more alarming aspect is that I didn't expect them to close - seems high time to look at the financials of the schools my kids are attending

1forward2back · 21/09/2023 21:51

Lots of girls in DDs year were offered large scholarships there two years ago. They’ll be the ones left in the lurch as no other school will honour those. Year 7 pupils have started a new school probably two weeks ago just to be told they’ll have to restart somewhere else! And I agree about year 11 - I bet they try to transfer them all to trinity which is mixed for sixth form. It just makes me realise how important the school size is. DDs school seems to be growing, which is good if it means it is secure for the future - and a similar type of school - we had considered Old Palace at the time though.

1forward2back · 21/09/2023 21:54

@Digimoor that is good. A relief for those parents.

Original poster
Autumnchills · 21/09/2023 22:00

Really sad news. I do think however that OP had lost its USP over the years, with a challenging and unattractive city centre location. It’s probably only due to the funding from the Whitgift Foundation that it was able to survive for as long as it has. I don’t think it’s as simple as them funding the boys not the girls since the boys schools have a very different profile, are able to charge higher fees and possibly have a higher number of full fee payers. I’m sure there are many contributory factors, eg the girls school has a prep too, I wonder how that affects the finances.

I feel terribly bad for all the current students, especially new starters, it must be devastating for them 😪

OP posts:
SprogTakesAQuarry · 21/09/2023 23:09

Sweetnhappy1 · 21/09/2023 21:20

It really is leaving people in the lurch. The current year 11s need to apply for sixth forms and most sixth form open evenings have happened already.

Have most 6th Form had their open evenings? I’d be really surprised if so.

Even if it’s true - which I’m not sure it is - I’m sure sixth forms would be happy to host further events for OP students given their current circumstances.

Sweetnhappy1 · 21/09/2023 23:42

@SprogTakesAQuarry My daughter's school had their main event today (Wimbledon High). I'm sure they'll accommodate parents wanting to look around after today but they won't be able to run their subject stalls or taster classes again in the same way they did today. Some sixth forms have entrance exams in a few weeks. I'd be mighty pissed off if I was assuming my child was staying in a school then have to scramble around with an admissions process. Every private school charges for applications so it'll be a costly process.

RockaLock · 22/09/2023 08:10

This is sad news, but not wholly surprising. According to the gov website, the school has 600 pupils currently, but a capacity of 900.

I know several families of boys at Trinity that sent their daughters to Croydon High rather than Old Palace, and one even pulled their daughter out of the prep school because they didn't rate it at all.

As far as I am aware there are no plans to make Trinity fully co-ed - not sure where people are getting those rumours from.

As a PP has said, the foundation has said they will pay scholarships and bursaries at alternative independent schools until the end of a pupil's GCSE year.

Recption1 · 22/09/2023 09:13

RockaLock · 22/09/2023 08:10

This is sad news, but not wholly surprising. According to the gov website, the school has 600 pupils currently, but a capacity of 900.

I know several families of boys at Trinity that sent their daughters to Croydon High rather than Old Palace, and one even pulled their daughter out of the prep school because they didn't rate it at all.

As far as I am aware there are no plans to make Trinity fully co-ed - not sure where people are getting those rumours from.

As a PP has said, the foundation has said they will pay scholarships and bursaries at alternative independent schools until the end of a pupil's GCSE year.

It was Whitgift's idea to buy the Croham Hurst private school (the site of the Prep) supersizing the school.

Croydon High has always had the same amount of girls as Old Palace, Whitgift are the ones who gambled on increasing the capacity.

Old Palace used to be one site in the centre of the town. Also Croham was a non-selective school merging the two was seen as a disaster by many as Old Palace was always selective. It did cause a drop in standards as all the Croham girls had to be absorbed into the school. Locally everyone said the school was not as good as it was before. That rumour persisted and the fact the main school always suffered being slap back in the middle of town, especially from parents outside of the area.

Whitfgift messed up a small indie girls school that served the local community and now wash their hands of it.

The provision of bursaries etc is insignificant compared to the revenue they can expect from breaking up the school. Just the Melville site alone must be worth many many millions.

@RockaLock Trinity co-ed rumours have persisted since they allowed girls into the 6th form 10 years ago, just as rumours persist for other long standing boys schools in London that have gone co-ed at 6th form like UCS, etc. All bullshit, I know, but it was obvious Old Palace was going to close when they announced end of bursaries, thus this thread, and we were speculating on its future.

Userccjlnhibibljn8 · 22/09/2023 11:20

I went to Old Palace back in the 70/80s. Absolutely shocked to hear the news. When I was there it was an academic power house without all the current bells and whistles that came with the Whitgift Foundation. I am very aware at the time it would not have suited everyone being highly selective and 'managed out' those who were less academic. But it gave me a great stepping stone, and the place itself was special. I find it hard to understand why they have not made a proposal to use Whitgift or Trinity facilities, and at least move one of them Co-ed, or at least address in their press releases why this is not an option. It seems to me this will be a PR disaster.

AIstolemylunch · 22/09/2023 11:52

Wow. I am quite surprised they haven't merged them into Trinity at secondary, but, as a Trinity parent with no skin in the game (no daughters to go to school, youngest is going into 6th form coed next year anyway (and looking forward to girls!)), I couldn't really see it working. The people know who sent daughters to OP or have Trinity sons and girls at Croydon High really aren't the type of girls that would enjoy a big, fairly brash, boys independent I don't think (many do come over from CH at sixth form though). It works in sixth form because the boys are more mature and it's the academic ones that stay on, and Uber girls coming in that have plenty of confidence, but I'm not sure I could see girls at Trinity before sixth form, and I have seen zero evidence that anyone is actually considering that.

AIstolemylunch · 22/09/2023 12:14

It does seem terrible Prvthough I have to say that the Whitgift Foundation now only supports boys outside of sixth form provision. Pretty shocking in 2023, but then they haven't exactly been impressive as a parent of boys.

RockaLock · 22/09/2023 14:26

There have been quite a few local all-girls indie schools that have closed or become co-ed in recent years:

2008 Croham Hurst - sort of merged with Old Palace, as a PP has said
2010 Commonweal Lodge - closed
2014 Dunottar - became co-ed
2017 Greenacre - closed

and slightly further afield, Farlingtons has also recently become co-ed.

I don't know, maybe local families aren't as willing to pay for girls' private schooling as they are for boys, or maybe there are just too many other (better?) girls' schools in S/SW London.

londonmummy1966 · 22/09/2023 15:09

AIstolemylunch · 22/09/2023 12:14

It does seem terrible Prvthough I have to say that the Whitgift Foundation now only supports boys outside of sixth form provision. Pretty shocking in 2023, but then they haven't exactly been impressive as a parent of boys.

You can bet your bottom dollar that the proceeds of the sale of the sites won't be invested in educating girls. It will presumably be used to bail out the Foundation after its Westfield deal seems to be heading south. I imagine the old Croaham Hurst site would be popular with developers but the listed buildings will make the main site somewhat harder.

I'm disappointed that they didn't look at the academy route - GDST manage to run private schools and academies side by side and there would be lots of demand for an academised OP.

Meleena · 22/09/2023 15:43

My daughter is in Yr11 due to sit exams next May - I'm worried about how demoralised she will be and if there will be any teachers left by then