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21
Jun
'We'll accept boys, but stay true to our values', says Harrogate Ladies' College principal
When the government announced last year that it would impose VAT on private school fees, there was much speculation about how great a toll the added financial pressure would exact on the independent education sector.
The measure came into force this year, and indeed there have been some casualties. Just last week, Queen Margaret’s for Girls at Escrick, near York, announced that it would close permanently at the end of this summer term.
Other schools have been luckier – or perhaps more nimble. Harrogate Ladies’ College, for example, has decided to cast its net wider, and will accept boys from 2026.
For obvious reasons, the move will come with a change of name, to Duchy College.
The Stray Ferret asked the school’s principal, Joanna Fox, about the rationale behind a development that has come as a huge surprise to many connected with the school. She told us:
These are uncertain times – challenging times for independent schools, particularly girls only. We wanted to make sure we were securing the future of the school, and it’s really important that we are able to do it in a measured way so that we can maintain our ethos of who we are.
Becoming co-educational will actually see the school come full circle. Harrogate College was originally a boys’ school. The headmaster opened a girls’ school in 1893 and when the boys’ school closed upon his death 10 years later, it kept the name.
It also means that boys at the college's prep school, Highfield, can remain within the school 'family' and remain with their female cohort.
But these considerations are unlikely to have figured prominently in the pupils’ reckoning when they heard of the development last Tuesday.
Ms Fox said:
We had an extra assembly and I wish we could have filmed it, because there was a second of sinking in, and then a huge fizz of excitement – as you can imagine.
I would say that not every pupil in there was excited, because for some, that wasn’t necessarily what they wanted, and some will need time to process it and think about it.
It’s not for everybody, but in the main, the feeling is one of excitement – and then for some, disappointment when they heard that boys weren’t going to be going into their year!
Ms Fox with pupils from Harrogate Ladies' College and Highfield Prep School.
The transition will be phased, with boys being admitted to Year 7 and Year 12 (the lower sixth) from 2026, and more joining them as they progress through the school, one year at a time. Duchy College will be fully co-educational by 2030.
Like the pupils’ reactions, the response from parents at meetings about the development has been mixed, but mainly positive.
Ms Fox said:
There were lots of questions – sensible, pragmatic, practical questions, slightly more philosophical questions, questions that I didn’t always have the answers to but mostly had.
In the main, parents felt reassured. One of the parents said, ‘We could have had a very different letter arrive’ [i.e. like the one Queen Margaret’s parents received]. But because we’re proactive, we’re planning, [shutting the school] wasn’t in our thoughts.
And actually, lots of parents are really pleased, and some came to the meetings just to say that.
There are hundreds of practical considerations to work through before Harrogate Ladies’ College morphs into Duchy College, and a lot of unknown territory to navigate.
Lessons will be mixed – there'll be no segregation for science or any other subjects – but the school, which currently has 550 pupils, has no idea as yet how many boys will be coming in the first year, let alone in subsequent terms.
Eventually, they’ll play football and cricket – these sports have already been introduced at Harrogate Ladies’ College – but where exactly has yet to be decided, and before there are enough boys to form teams, they’ll be concentrating on other sports, such as swimming, athletics and tennis.
Where the school will excel is where it has always excelled, said Ms Fox:
We have a pastoral programme called Flourish, which supports every pupil and makes them feel known and have the confidence to be who they are, regardless.
The pastoral team meets once a week for each section of the school – lower, middle and senior school – and discusses every single pupil.
She said:
It’s a big commitment – there are a lot of people in the meeting: myself, the mental health lead, the heads of school, the wellness centre, the boarding staff, and the SEND coordinator.
That ensures that we know each child and we can be proactive – and that is a huge strength.
Highfield Prep already admits boys.
This focus on the individual child is so unusual that school inspectors apparently didn’t believe Ms Fox when she told them about it:
I had to show them the weekly data.
The huge changes the school will see will come with a hefty price-tag, but much of the cost will be offset by proceeds from the sale of one of the boarding houses, a 35-room property going for offers over £1.75 million.
As a result, there’ll be expanded sporting provision, an enhanced boarding offer, and a standalone sixth-form centre. Design technology will be reintroduced to the curriculum, as well as an internal baccalaureate-style programme called the Duchy Award.
Ms Fox said:
So lots of things, lots of work – but don’t ask me for minute detail!
In five years’ time, she said, the school will be fully co-educational, and, she hopes, there will be a real sense of community and belonging – among pupils of both sexes.
Whatever that looks like, she hopes that some things will remain the same. She said:
We love our school. From the bottom up and top down, we absolutely love our school, and what we’re trying to do is make sure we can endure and maintain our ethos and values and be true to who we are.
The important thing is that we still have the same feel, we still uphold the same values – 'I am me' – that's really important. By doing it in a measured way, phasing the transition, we feel that’s easier to manage.
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