Private school switches to girls-only from age four to 18

The Mount, in York, currently operates a girls boarding and day senior school with a co-ed junior school.

However from September it will become the only all-girls through school serving pupils from the age of four to 18 in North Yorkshire. The junior school will no longer be called Tregelles and will instead take on the Mount’s name.

Mount principal Julie Lodrick, said: “We have been successfully educating girls in York since 1785 and this is the only Quaker day and boarding school for girls in the UK. We feel confident that now is absolutely the right time to make this change. We will offer a real choice in York and the surrounding area that has not been available until this point. This will enable us to offer a tailor-made curriculum which will provide girls with an excellent all-round education.”

She told the Yorkshire Post the switch would allow the school to focus all of its resources on teaching girls who learn differently to boys.

The school also believes becoming an all-girls school at both junior and senior level will give the education they provide a unique selling point.

Ms Lodrick added: “I believe there has never been a more pressing need to give girls the skills they require to succeed in life. Substantial evidence and research shows that an all-girls’ education allows girls to fulfil their potential, equipping them to thrive in a competitive, global market.”

The school advised all parents of the changes last week. Parents with boys in the junior school have been told that the Mount will remain committed to their education. Boys currently at any stage at Tregelles can finish their full period at the school.

The junior school currently has 110 pupils while there are 240 in the senior school, including 70 boarders. Ms Lodrick said she hoped the switch to all-girls status across the school would allow pupil numbers to grow over time.