St Hilda's School, Westcliff-on-Sea

St Hilda's School was an independent day school for girls aged 3–16 and boys up to age 11 in Westcliff-on-Sea, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. It was one of few independent schools in the county which did not have a sixth form.[1]

St Hilda's School
Address
15 Imperial Avenue

Westcliff-on-Sea
,
Essex
,
SS0 8NE

England
Coordinates51°32′38″N 0°40′52″E
Information
TypeIndependent day school
MottoUpward and Onward
Established1946
Closed2014
Local authoritySouthend-on-Sea
Department for Education URN115405 Tables
HeadmistressMrs S O'Riordan
GenderGirls; Coeducational (3-11)
Age3 to 16
Enrolment120~
Websitehttp://www.sthildasschool.co.uk/

History

St Hilda's predecessor school, St Clare's, was founded by Mrs Tunnicliffe in 1946 at Thorpe Bay. St Clare's soon outgrew its premises and new buildings in Westcliff-on-Sea were purchased. St Hilda's was opened on January 1947. The school was owned by Mrs Tunnicliffe's family.[2]

Closure

St Hilda's School was foreclosed and closed on short notice in the summer of 2014. The last school day was 14 July 2014.[3] The Echo newspaper reported that the school may have closed due to highly increasing levels of debt in its final years. Its headteacher Susan O'Riordan and financial director Steven Gorridge had both resigned as directors from the management board of the school on 30 April 2014.[4] In a statement, the school's directors said that "excess capacity" for independent school places in the area was behind the decision. "We have sought finance, possible buyers and mergers, and various other possibilities notwithstanding considerable financial input from ourselves," they stated. The insolvency firm DKF Insolvency Ltd assisted with the school's liquidation.[5]

References
  1. "EduBase - St Hilda's School". www.education.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  2. 65 Years of St Hilda's
  3. "Independent school in Westcliff shuts at short notice". Echo. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  4. "When did head know St Hilda's was doomed?". Echo. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  5. "St Hilda's school in Westcliff goes into liquidation". BBC News. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.