After 83 years the economic downturn has forced the closure of Wanganui Collegiate's St George's campus from next year.
Collegiate board of trustees chairman Jeff Whitlock said it was sad to have to announce the closing of the school after a long tradition of fine preparatory education. But the reality wasthe roll numbers of primary school children in Wanganui had dropped considerably. In addition, there had been the economic downturn, he said.
"The fees were a big ask these days, especially for those some families with more than one child enrolled at St George's."
Even though the roll stood at 190 pupils, 250 were needed to make the school viable.
During the 1980s the roll reached a peak of 280 pupils, he said.
From next year, Years 7 to 8 will be housed at the Collegiate campus. Classes for Years 1 to 4 will close. Parents of Year 5 and 6 students will be offered an alternative for one or two years.
Mr Whitlock said if there was enough interest from the parents of Year 5 and 6 students wanting their children to continue at Collegiate, they would look at taking the students across to the Collegiate campus.
"But there would have to be at least 30 students to make it viable."
However, Mr Whitlock was adamant that the new Ballet School, which would take 12 students after auditions in October, would not be affected.
"No, not at all, because these will be Year 7 and 8 students and they will be on the Collegiate campus."
Headmaster Tim Wilbur said the 30 per cent drop in primary school age numbers combined with the harsh economic climate had made it too difficult to provide and maintain a quality independent education service.
"St George's has always prided itself on offering a unique and quality educational experience, which is nothing less than our students deserve. Sadly, this option has become unaffordable for many Wanganui families which, along with increasing costs, has put pressure on our ability to offer Year 1 to 8 education on the current site."
From next year, Wanganui Collegiate would be a Year 7 to 13 boarding and day school.
Some staff restructuring would be involved across both sites to make the most effective use of resources, but Mr Whitlock said he was unable to comment on that yet.
No decision had yet been made on the future of the St George's site.
