The owner of two small UK independent schools catering predominantly for girls has proposed their closure by the end of the academic year.
is understood to have written to parents at and , North London, to announce the closure plans.
The group is understood to have told parents that the decision was down to a steady decline in pupil numbers coupled with VAT on fees, and rises in employers’ National Insurance contributions. The other five UK schools in the Chatsworth group are not affected.
The announcements bring the total number of UK independent school closure announcements to five since the beginning of January when VAT on fees came into effect.
Schools to enter statutory consultations on proposed closure also include Loughborough Amherst in Leicestershire, Maidwell Hall in Northamptonshire and .
Highfield Prep, which has been open since 1956, has a co-educational pre-prep and an all-girls prep department.
Government figures show that the school has the capacity for 194 pupils but currently has just 94, although numbers for September 2025 are thought be half that.
The Village School for Girls has a capacity for 140 pupils but just 72 pupils were attending this year, according to government figures. Opening in 1985, it has traditionally catered for girls from 2 to 11 but its website says a senior section opened last September.
It is located in a large Edwardian house in a residential area of Belsize Park, North London.
The closure plans come amid falling birth rates across the UK. Camden, where The Village School is situated, has experienced a 30 per cent fall since 2018, which has already forced the closure of four state schools in the London borough.
Chatsworth Schools declined to comment on the closure plans.
Today’s news comes as it was announced that the large special educational needs provider has acquired the Blenheim Schools arm of Chatsworth Schools – Story follows on ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø
