One of Merseyside's top-rated schools will undergo a "significant" refurbishment following a recent takeover.
Prenton Preparatory School, in Oxton, is the highest-ranked school in Wirral, according to The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2022. The school, which was founded in 1935, ranks as the third-best in Merseyside and the 45th-best in the country.
And now the school has been taken over by Forfar Education, a group that owns, builds and manages schools across the globe with a view to creating outstanding centres of excellence for pupils of all ages.
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Prenton Prep, nestled in the heart of Oxton’s conservation area, is an independent co-ed school well known for its family atmosphere and inviting location. Forfar CEO John Forsyth said the group’s most recent acquisition was not only strategic in terms of location – giving the group a presence in the North West - but also in terms of the local independent prep school market.
He said: “Prenton Prep is an established small school with a very strong reputation. Forfar will be investing to significantly refurbish the school, equipping it with state-of-the-art classrooms and technology, as well as focusing on creating excellence in specialist subject areas.
“Forfar’s considerable expertise will support and resource staff to be the best they can be, so that each child has a clear individual learning plan that enables them to get into their secondary school of choice. Forfar will maintain the small family ethos that Prenton and Forfar share and with Forfar’s educational experience and financial support Prenton Prep will soon become the ‘go to’ school in the Wirral.”
He added: “Our aim as a group, made up of experts in education from across the world and now rooted in all corners of the UK, is to create and nurture inspiring schools that teach self-belief, resilience and deliver academic excellence in a happy environment.
"Prenton Prep offered the perfect foundations – in terms of size, history, ethos and culture – for us to develop the school and propel it to stand amongst some of the top prep schools in the country.”
Founded in 2016, Forfar Education, prides itself on a "strong family ethos", and currently owns and manages several of the UK’s leading prep schools. These include Cameron Vale in Chelsea, Horris Hill in Newbury, The Gleddings in Halifax, Brackenfield School in Harrogate, Park School in Bournemouth and Argyle House School in Sunderland.
All schools in the group aspire to produce pupils who are confident, kind, worldly, resilient, polite, happy and equipped to navigate and succeed in whatever the future may bring. All of Forfar’s Prep schools currently have an excellent rating by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), the equivalent to an ‘outstanding’ OFSTED rating.
Headteacher at Prenton Prep Mike Jones said: “This is an exciting new chapter in our school’s history, as we move into a new phase of management directed by a drive to put us on the map for our academic and extra-curricular excellence.
"Forfar is known for preparing children to go to the best independent schools and we’re delighted to be part of this growing family of excellent schools focused on producing the leaders of the next generation.”
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