Redcliffe Gardens School in Chelsea has told parents that the school will close down at the end of the academic year due to a shortage of pupils.
The co-ed London prep, which is the alma mater of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe and actress and screen writer Emerald Fennell, has just 74 pupils, according to official figures, but a capacity of 186.
The school was founded in 1948 by Lady Daphne Edwards, who, according to The Good Schools Guide, left her house plus “enough cash for a charitable trust”.
The closure announcement comes just days after it was announced that Loreto Prep in Altrincham is also to close at the end of the summer term. ISMP also recently reported that Fosse Bank School in Tonbridge, Kent, would be closing this week (March 24).
According to Mail Online, chair of governors Simon Davies, wrote to parents to reveal that the Godolphin and Latymer Foundation, which took over Redcliffe Gardens in 2020, had decided to close it down after more than 70 years.
He said the intention had been to build pupil numbers after they tailed off during the 2020 lockdown, but it still had not seen the turnaround required to secure the school’s financial future.
Mr Davies added: ‘A number of external factors have made the context especially challenging with the Covid pandemic adding very significant pressures.’
Although demand for prep schools in London is apparently strong, the market is also competitive, with commercial school groups moving into the picture.
A spokesperson for the Godolphin and Latymer Foundation confirmed with ISMP that parents had been told about the planned closure of the school at the end of the academic year.