Shropshire's oldest prep school announces name change

The organisation say the change is building on the relationship between the prep school and Wrekin College, which the school became part of in 2006, forming the Wrekin Old Hall Trust.

The school was founded in 1845, and for over 160 years it was housed in Wellington's oldest building. The school moved from the private preparatory school building to its current home on the Wrekin College campus when the two establishments merged.

Executive head at the Trust, Mr Toby Spence, said the new name would be part of a rebranding exercise that would see the school "openly celebrate its successes and strengths as a community which provides the best possible education from 4-18 years old".

“It is time for a new chapter and one which will openly recognise and celebrate the successes and strengths of our all-through school community, both within and beyond our campus,” he added.

“We are all proud of the rich history of both schools and this is a natural and exciting progression in that continuing journey aimed at encouraging both growth and stability across the Trust.

“As my predecessors did in 2006 when they took the forward-thinking decision to create the Trust, we need to move forward to ensure we are doing the very best we can for the children in our care.

"It is only right that we continue to evolve and adapt to suit the modern world.

"We are excited at the opportunity to reinforce what we do so well in this refresh to our branding and collaboration between our schools, but in terms of the day-to-day life of the school life of the school very little will change.

“Old Hall School and Wrekin already share many ‘umbrella’ features. As well as one joint governing body with all ultimate decision-making powers, the schools already co-exist on the same campus, sharing numerous facilities including the sports hall, fields and astroturfs, Chapel and the swimming pool. We are, already, one school that offers our trademark excellent education for pupils aged 4-18.

“We now want that to be better reflected in our outward appearance and to signal clearly what is a great strength and one which benefits all our pupils. As independent education faces a challenging time we believe it is right to maximise the strong links already forged between Old Hall and Wrekin College to enhance them further.

“This November we have welcomed a large number of children from across the region who have sat our 11+ entrance exam with more than 90 per cent of the current year six class at Old Hall among them. It is a natural progression for many of our families so we feel it is the right time to look again at how we reflect that in the wider community. It will hopefully better serve parents as they look to choose the right school for their child and their own family circumstances.

“This is a tremendously exciting time in the history of our Trust and I look forward to sharing further developments over the coming months.”