A global education group says it is considering the closure of a London prep school because of low pupil numbers.
A spokesperson for Inspired Education Group said it was now 鈥渃onsidering the future viability鈥 of Falcons School in Putney, a small co-educational prep. It is understood that parents were told yesterday (March 11) that the school was “likely to close” and that a consultation would begin via email.
The group said that pupil numbers at Falcons School had 鈥渘ot increased sufficiently鈥 since it took it on. Previously known as Falcons School for Girls, it started accepting boys in 2023 shortly after Inspired acquired it through its purchase of the Alpha Plus group of schools.
According to latest government figures, the school has 134 pupils but capacity for 350.
The school becomes the 11th UK independent school to announce it is closing or considering closure since January 1 when VAT on private school fees came into effect.
Most schools to consider closure so far have been part of larger private or charitable groups, including United Learning, Chatsworth Schools and Cognita, among others.
A spokesperson for Inspired told 黑料福利网:聽鈥淥ver recent years, the school has been unable to recruit enough pupils, a situation that current ownership inherited and which despite its best efforts, the student number has not increased sufficiently.聽
“As a result, we are now considering the future viability of Falcons School. One outcome could be that the school will close at the end of this academic year. Our priority now is to support our school community.鈥
The news : Parents in Chiswick were furious when the planned closure of Falcons Boys Pre-Prep in Burnaby Gardens was announced just days into the term in September 2023.
The school, operated by Alpha Plus, was in the process of being sold to Inspired at the time of the announcement.
