Bishop Challoner School, located on Bromley Road in Shortlands, is a co-educational Roman Catholic School for children aged three to 18.
The independent school opened in 1950, but after 75 years, the Board of Trustees has announced that the school will close permanently when the current academic year ends.
The “incredibly difficult decision” has been made due to several factors.
The school cited falling birth rates, the cost-of-living crisis, and the impact of VAT on school fees.
These things have resulted to a “significant decline in pupil numbers”.
The cost to keep the school running has risen over the years which has put a strain on the school’s financial sustainability.
They say they searched for new investment, but nothing came through, and now the school’s set to close on July 4.
Ongoing teaching at the school will continue until the end of term in an attempt to minimise disruption to students.
The school will close after the exam period, so none of the Bishop Challoner School pupils’ exams will be impacted.
Mrs P Colling, Chair of Trustees, said: “This is a very difficult time for our parents, pupils and staff.
“We are saddened that, despite our best efforts, the school has to close.
“The Board of Trustees is immensely proud of Bishop Challoner School’s successes over many years and we are especially grateful to our staff who have always put the interests of our pupils first. They are a loyal and dedicated staff.
“The Trustees and the senior leadership team at the school are working closely with parents to help identify places in schools so our pupils continue to receive the high-quality education they deserve.
“We have written to the parents of our school, outlining the support available and a meeting will be held for parents to discuss the situation further.
“We will also provide support for our staff, to help them find roles elsewhere.
We are acutely aware of the impact this decision has on our young students.
“Bishop Challoner is a school that has built its reputation on outstanding pastoral care and this makes the decision all the harder.”
Support is being offered to help staff find new roles and to help parents secure places at other schools for their children.
In response to the news, Cllr Colin Smith, Leader of Bromley Council, has written to MP Liam Conlon, calling the closure “devastating” and urging him to lobby the Government to reverse policies that he says have caused it.
The letter, which the council intends to make public, blames the Government’s VAT plans and a rise in employer National Insurance contributions for putting extra financial strain on private schools.
The letter states: “You voted, along with other Government MPs, to introduce both the introduction of VAT on private school fees and to raise NICs for employers, given the prevailing view of so many people locally that these were nothing other than vindictive taxes on aspirational, hardworking people and public-facing organisations that we knew would lead to financial burden and strain not only for them, but across the existing State sector schools who will now have to pick up the pieces as well.
“Many parents across Bromley are quite rightfully angry at this outcome and with those of you who have allowed this situation to come to pass, and by so doing, putting the educational outcomes for so many Bromley pupils at risk.
“I therefore respectfully urge you to call on your Government to reverse these policies.”
