A girl’s school in South Croydon has been put on the market for offers over £7.5 million as the school year ends.
The Old Palace of John Whitgift Pre-school & Preparatory School, comprising 11 buildings set over 1.9 hectares, is available for sale as a whole or in parts.
Pictures show classrooms, a gym and a library still full of equipment and children’s toys.
News that the Whitgift Foundation, Croydon’s largest landowner, would be shuttering the fee-paying school broke last year.
“The school has struggled financially for many years, and the foundation has supported the school from its general reserves in the expectation that the financial situation would improve at some point,” wrote the chair of The Whitgift Foundation, citing a £19.9 million loss in the charity’s finances in 2022.
Parents have accused the Whitgift Foundation of sexism in closing the girl’s school, and reported it to the Charities Commission in May.
“The Whitgift Foundation tries to promote itself as a caring organisation fighting for the interests of Croydon’s residents but the way it has acted over the closure of Old Palace has been shocking,” said Aaron Strutt, local resident and parent of a child who until recently attended the school.
“Many parents and local residents are struggling to understand how it can be right to knock down a loved and valued school with an outstanding reputation for educating girls,” he added.
“It is such a shame that it will probably be flattened and turned into flats unless someone with deep pockets saves it.”
The senior school, which occupies several Grade-listed buildings in Croydon Old Town, will also close, but has not been put on the market.
“This large freehold property, most recently used as a school, presents a rare opportunity of scale that spans across 4.5 acres of grounds and is set in a very well-connected location,” said Emma Cleugh, head of the education & charities team at Knight Frank.
“Potential buyers have the option to continue the current use, or redevelop the site for alternative mixed or residential uses, subject to the necessary consents.”
The Whitgift Foundation was founded in 1596 by the Archbishop of Canterbury to provide education for the young and care for the elderly. Today it is Croydon’s largest landowner, operating three (soon to be two) independent schools and three care homes.
The Whitgift Foundation’s financial troubles may be larger than simply one school. The charity also owns the freehold and 25 per cent of the leasehold of The Whitfield Centre, a beleaguered shopping mall in the middle of Croydon.
In 2012 plans — brokered by the then Mayor of London Boris Johnson — were afoot to have Australian developer Westfield redevelop the shopping centre in a £1.4 billion regeneration scheme. It was due to complete in 2017.
The vision to create a new “retail destination” was scrapped in 2021 and twelve years later, the shopping- and town centre remains un-regenerated.
Westfield has indicated a revised masterplan for the site would include “thousands” of flats but will not be delivered until 2025, local news organisation Inside Croydon reports.
