Girls without school places after Commonweal Lodge Senior School closes (From Croydon Guardian)

Girls without school places after Commonweal Lodge Senior School closes

9:03am Wednesday 8th September 2010 in

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More than 70 girls have been left without a school after the board of governors failed to find a buyer for Commonweal Lodge Senior School.

Past and present students are joining forces and holding a protest outside the school in Purley today.

On August 31, the governors decided to close the school permanently because it was struggling in the recession, leaving many girls without a school place at the start of the new academic year.

According to 18-year-old former pupil, Alice Cole, 20 per cent of girls had not found new schools to go to.

The school has provided education to thousands of girls during its 92-year history.

Cognita, a national education provider, has bought the junior and infant schools attached to Commonweal but no buyer has yet been found for the senior part of the school. Several investors have expressed an interest but as yet, no firm offers are in place.

A spokesman for Cognita said: “We are in discussion with the trust to finalise the acquisition of the prep and pre-prep school.”

Miss Cole, an optics student at university, said: “Commonweal is a small but highly successful school, with exceptional value-added scores and great examination success. Last year it received an outstanding grade at inspection for its academic and pastoral provision.

“It is for these reasons that the pupils of Commonweal, both past and present will be staging a protest against the closure at 5pm on Wednesday, September 8, outside the school gates.

“In the words of our school motto, we ‘Keep Troth’ with the school and will do anything we can to save it.”

A council spokesman said: “Any Croydon parent who has a child at the school should know the council would be happy to give any assistance we can to those seeking a permanent school place elsewhere.”

The school declined to comment.