Gilling Castle Announcement from the St Laurence Education Trust
We are constantly reviewing our schools to ensure the highest levels of care and educational standards. We would like to outline our proposal for our prep school, St Martin’s Ampleforth.
From September 2018 we propose to close the Pre-Prep and Years 2 to 5 and integrate the remaining years into the Ampleforth College site. This will run from Year 6 upwards for the next academic year and Year 7 upwards thereafter.
We have announced this proposal to all teaching and support staff at St Martin’s Ampleforth and will now begin a period of consultation with them. We have also contacted all parents with children at St Martin’s Ampleforth who will be directly affected by this change. This has not been a quick or easy decision for our trustees to make and we recognise that this is the end of an era for all of us. We will be sad to leave the Gilling Castle site after so many years.
As we plan the proposed move there will be a period of consultation with staff to shape our new boarding provision, curriculum and access to facilities for our younger pupils, all designed to help each child flourish. All of these proposals will also be refined in consultation with parents and children. In particular, we will ensure that all future plans reflect the incredibly positive feedback on David Moses’ leadership and the pastoral care he, his wife Clare and all the staff offer to each child at the school.