HASLEMERE prep school St Ives is to take boys at reception age and in years one and two for the first time.

The former girls school has already run a co-education nursery for many years and boys attending will now be able to stay on at St Ives in addition to new admissions.

The move, which takes effect at the start of the 2017 academic year, follows the closure of Haslemere Prep School for boys at the end of the summer term and was made in response to rising demand.

Headteacher Kay Goldsworthy said: “Our nursery is very popular with local families who send boys and girls here to enjoy their first experience of education. We are always being asked whether we could allow boys to carry on from the nursery into our early years, and recently we have seen increasing interest from parents who are looking for somewhere great to send their sons to for their first years of school.

“We will of course remain a girls-only school for our older pupils, who so enjoy their time here.

“We know how much our girls and their families value the education and ethos we have here and this will continue to be at the heart of what we do.

“We are justifiably very proud of our record of ensuring that all year six leavers are accepted into their first-choice senior school and know that our 360-degree education model is largely responsible for that.

“We see these changes as adding to and enriching the rounded education that we offer our senior girls, preparing them for the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead and we look forward to delivering similar excellence with boys leaving after year two for their first choice of prep school.

“These changes, alongside our competitive fee structure and alumni and sibling discounts, position St Ives competitively and effectively as we look to consolidate our position as a provider of academic, sporting and creative excellence in the South East.”