Old school to become ‘centre of excellence’ (From Bournemouth Echo)

Old school to become ‘centre of excellence’

2:11pm Wednesday 9th July 2008 in

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A PURBECK school that closed a year ago due to falling pupil numbers is set to reopen its doors.

The Old Malthouse School at Langton Matravers provided education for 101 years and parents were left shocked when the board of governors decided it could not carry on after the end of the summer term in 2007.

But now the independent school is set to rise from the ashes - albeit in a different form - after its trust agreed in principle to merge with the Cothill Educational Trust.

The Cothill Educational Trust is made up of five schools, which educate around 1,000 pupils of pre-prep age.

It has schools in Oxfordshire, Northumberland, Gloucestershire and in south west France.

The idea is to establish a "centre of excellence" at the Old Malthouse for the specialised study of biological sciences and biodiversity; previously, the school offered a full curriculum.

No date has yet been set for the school to reopen, but it is not likely the plans will be confirmed in time for the new term in the autumn.

In a joint statement, the two trusts said: "The ambition is to rekindle an interest and excitement in modern scientific techniques and begin to address the enormous moral and ethical questions that accompany them."

The school said that initially pupils will be drawn from schools already within the trust with the intention of developing the centre to include other schools from the UK and overseas.

The statement added: "All who have been associated with the Old Malthouse School will be delighted by the plans to continue its 100-year tradition of educating prep-school age children and by its future as a pioneering establishment at the forefront of scientific education."

The trusts also hope that the school's position on the World Heritage Jurassic Coast will help to enhance the study of geographical and geological aspects of the environment.