Sorry, should have made myself clearer.
St. David's end of term is on Friday 3rd July. There will be no senior school next year & I can't see a prep-school being viable, whatever the plans.
St. James intention is to knock the school about for a year - some repairs are necessary & could be speeded up if they have the money and some alterations will have to be made - such as installing toilets for the boys - and then move in.
The prep-school was down to around 85 pupils & with no scheduled intake would be around 50-60 even if everyone stayed. They are stuck at one end of the school, not in the main building. The whole school was about 440 a couple of years back. I don't think any parents want their children to be rattling around in a half empty building site.
The site is thirty acres of prime land, grade II listed building, lake in the grounds - plus 300 years of history & the patronage of HM The Queen - that's what they are after.
Don't start about St. Catherine's - they, like many other schools in the area offered places to St. David's girls. But St. James's name them specifically & like to imply that they are partners - something St. Catherine's vigoursously denies & seemed to this (when I mentioned it to them) that I was trying to draw them into something - but when St. Jame's at the prep-school open evening (attended by staff & only 6 prep-school parents) said "we have 3 schools, St. James's in Olympia for girls & prep, St. James in Twickenham for boys - and of course St. Catherine's will take the girls too" (I paraphrase), well, they didn't have to mention St. Catherine's at a prep-school meeting and I know that the 3 schools are St. James Twickenham, Olympia for girls & Olympia prep - but a lot of people including staff got the impression that St. Catherine's was part of the St. James Group.
I have tried to explain, but since the last, very rude email I got from someone associated with St. Catherine's I try to avoid the subject.
Subsidised ? Not mentioned - and they can't offer anything on St. Catherine's part. As I understand St. James's Olympia is overcrowded - even if the two schools were next door would it be capable of taking on 165 senior girls? I don't think they wanted any takers.
They way that the governors dragged their heels over the whole matter, offering no support to IES & springing St. James's as a done deal without informing the parents that they we even talking to them, has meant almost every senior girl had been forced to look for a place elsewhere before half term.
Utter incompetence on behalf of the old St. David's governors.
"What is the general view of St James from the parents of the former pupils of St David's?" - well a couple of comments from the girls themselves first:
- One girl looked at the website & just said "no way, it's too creepy"
- Another took one look at the site & posted on Facebook (I quote, not my words) "It's a fricking cult"
Almost to a man & woman the feelings may be summed up by "wouldn't touch them with a bargepole".