Families are having to find new school places for September after one of West Sussex’s oldest independent schools announced its sudden closure during the summer holidays.
Families are having to find new school places for September after one of West Sussex’s oldest independent schools announced its sudden closure during the summer holidays.
Sompting Abbotts Preparatory School, in Sompting near Lancing, confirmed it would not reopen for the new academic year after more than a century of teaching children.
The nursery and preparatory school had 98 pupils aged between two and 13 when the summer term ended last month.
Its closure leaves families with only the remaining weeks of the school holidays to arrange alternative education for their children.
Staff are also urgently looking for new employment before the start of the autumn term.
Masterclass Education said it had been contacted by a number of employees from the school who were desperate to secure work for September.
The teaching recruitment agency warned that the short notice could have a significant financial impact on some members of staff.
School says financial pressures became too great
Principal David Sinclair said the school had explored several possible ways of remaining open, but could not overcome the financial pressures it faced.
He cited the introduction of VAT on independent school fees and the wider economic climate among the factors behind the decision.
VAT was introduced on private school fees in January 2025 as part of government plans to raise money for additional teachers in the state sector.
Mr Sinclair said: “We have explored numerous options to keep the school open in September, but financial pressures have become too great.”
He added that the school was proud of the education it had provided and wished its pupils well for the future.
There is no indication that the closure was connected to the standard of education or a failure to meet regulatory requirements.
The school’s website says all required standards were met during its most recent regulatory compliance inspection.
More than a century of history
Sompting Abbotts was founded in 1921 and had been run by three generations of the Sinclair family.
It operated from a Grade II-listed neo-Gothic building surrounded by 30 acres of grounds, woodland and playing fields.
The school was temporarily closed during the Second World War, when pupils were evacuated to Wales and the building was taken over by the Army.
It reopened under the Sinclair family in 1946 and later became a mixed school.
Sompting Abbotts had capacity for considerably more children than the 98 enrolled when its final term ended.
The school had continued advertising admissions and welcoming prospective families during the previous academic year, including holding an open afternoon in May.
Parents affected by the closure will now need to approach other independent schools or speak to West Sussex County Council about available state-school places.
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