Park School for Girls, Ilford set to permanently close

Park School for Girls will shut from the last teaching day of the summer term, July 5.

According to a spokesperson for the Park Avenue school, a number of external factors have led to the decision to close.

These include the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis adding pressures on current parents and the pipeline of new pupils into the school, all impacting the cost of running the school.

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Upon announcing the closure, the governors of Park School for Girls said that they had attempted to find a purchaser and had explored other options but that these were not able to secure the school’s future.

Last August, the Recorder reported that Park School for Girls was celebrating an “impressive” set of GCSEs, with 20.6 per cent of all results awarded the top grade of nine and 44.7pc of results awarded eight or nine.

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Headteacher Catherine Redfern said: “This is a very challenging time for small independent schools who are feeling the impact of these unprecedented times, perhaps even more than the bigger independent schools who can withstand the pressures of the current economic climate due to economics of scale.

“The loss of this successful girls’ school is a devastating blow for the whole Park School community; and the further reduction of choice is a devastating blow for each and every person with a daughter who aspires to single-sex education.”

The school currently teaches female students from Barking and Dagenham, Newham and Waltham Forest as well as Redbridge.

It hailed its rise to second nationally in The Times Best UK Schools Guide 2023 in the ‘top fee-paying schools with no sixth forms’ category.

In a news story on its website from December 2022, the school said: “We are extremely proud of this achievement. 

“This is as a result of dedicated and experienced staff who are able to support our extremely motivated and aspirational pupils who are always thriving to achieve their very best.”