WELSH PHOENIX FROM THE ASHES
Andy Homden meets Rachael Harman, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Clare House School, which opens in September 2026 after its predecessor was closed in 2025.
Bucking trends
In the days of VAT on school fees in the UK and an international scene increasingly dominated by large, for-profit educational groups, Clare House is bucking all sorts of trends, opening as a not-for-profit independent school in September 2026. To understand why and how this is happening, you have to go back to May 2025, when the Cognita Group announced the imminent closure of St. Clare’s School in South Wales, which it had owned for some 20 years. All classes were set to finish at the end of the year and in the normal world of independent educational realpolitik, that would have been that. But thanks to a strong sense of community in the Welsh community of Porthcawl and the determination of a group of St. Clare’s parents, something very different started to happen as an idea took hold. Having established that it was not possible to take the school over and run it, a trust was established with the aim of opening a new school on the site to keep the tradition of local independent education alive in the area.
Devastating news
I began by asking Rachael to describe the circumstances that called school continuity into question:
“In May 2025 parents received an email informing us that St Clare’s School in Porthcawl was due to close. It came as a complete shock to everyone, both families and staff. The email also informed parents that there would be a meeting the following morning at the school to discuss the closure with Cognita staff.
“The reasons given for the closure were economic pressures, and the falling local birth rate, which had made projected pupil numbers for the next academic year “unsustainable”. The intention was for the school to close at the end of the December term in 2025, midway through the academic year!”
Parent reaction
“Our first reaction was really just trying to understand what had happened and what the options might be. Quite quickly the question started to come up about whether there might be any way for the school to be kept open if it was taken over by the parent body. Despite our best efforts, this just wasn’t possible.
‘Over time a small group started looking more seriously at whether it might be possible to open a new school independently. Many of us felt very strongly that what the old school offered to families was worth trying to preserve.
‘Setting up a Trust for this purpose was the nenxt step. It felt like the right structure because it meant the school could operate on a not-for-profit basis and focus on providing a good education rather than being driven by commercial pressures.’
The pressure of time
‘The time frame was quite tight. The closure was announced in May 2025, with the intention that the old school would close in December that year. That meant things needed to happen very quickly.’
There was a lot to do. We needed to begin looking at governance, the regulatory requirements for opening a new independent school, and how the site itself might be secured.’
Strategy
Listening to Rachael, you could almost hear the clock ticking. What kind of strategic plan was emerging?
‘Honestly, in the very early stages it was mostly perseverance. The number of phone calls and emails in those first few weeks was extraordinary. Setting up the Trust enaled us to raise money, and give a legal framework to our ambition, but how the members of the Trust managed to make the contributions they did alongside their full-time jobs and family commitments amazes me.
‘We were incredibly lucky to have such a breadth of talent within our parent body. The small group of parents who formed the Trust brought together experience from finance, education, law and governance.
‘But as things progressed, it also became clear that reopening a school could not be done by parents alone. Seeking experienced educational leadership and professional advice became an important part of the process. We were incredibly lucky to be connected with both Sally Davis, who joined us as our Executive Head, and Michael Harris, who joined the Trust board.
‘We also spent a lot of time working through the financial side to make sure that any plan to reopen the school would be realistic and sustainable. This was one of our biggest headaches – there was limited financial information available from the previous school operator, so we had to build our financial model from the ground up. Luckily one member of the board is an experienced accountant and venture capitalist.
‘The second thing was to understand the regulatory process for opening a new independent school and begin preparing the documentation required for registration.’
Challenge and support
‘Time was probably the biggest challenge.
‘Setting up a school from scratch involves a huge number of different areas – governance, finance, staffing, regulatory requirements, negotiating the lease for the site, and preparing the site itself. The whole process was quite intense.
‘So, the support we received was essential. It came from a number of places. Many parents and St, Clare’s alumni were incredibly encouraging, and a number of former staff also offered advice and their backing along the way. There was a strong sense from the local community that people wanted to see the school continue.
‘We also received very helpful support from other independent schools in South Wales. The trustees from Ffynone were particularly generous with their time and advice.
‘One of our biggest wins was being introduced to Michael. He has a huge amount of experience in both setting up new schools and helping established schools to grow, and his guidance has been invaluable. Looking back, that introduction feels incredibly serendipitous. We simply would not have reached this point without him, and we are very grateful that he accepted our invitation to join the Trust board. However, our ultimate strength comes from our collective efforts’
A Forest and Beach School
Having set up the Trust, the Board secured the school site, started building the leadership team and engaging with families who were interested in joining the founding cohort. This will be familiar territory to educational startup professionals, but it was a whole new world to this group of dedicated parents. But as they warmed to their task, next steps were becoming clearer.
‘We are completing the registration process, continuing to build the staff team and preparing the school so that it is ready to welcome pupils.
‘More broadly, the goal is to open the new school in a way that is sustainable for the long term and that preserves the qualities that families valued in the original school. It’s is’t easy, but we are on course for opening under Sally’s headship as a FAB school – Forest and Beach – making the most of our 11-acre site and our proximity to the beautiful Welsh coastline. As a new school, we will begin with a small number of classes and grow gradually over time. This allows us to build the school carefully and ensure that the culture and community are strong from the very beginning.
‘Our ethos is also evolving, with a focus on creating a nurturing environment with small class sizes in which children are known as individuals and can thrive both academically and personally’
Advice to others?
Asked what advice she would you give to other parents finding themselves in a similar situation, Rachael was clear:
‘I think the main thing is not to assume that closure is necessarily the end of the story. It does take an enormous amount of work, and you need the right mix of people and expertise involved, but if there is a committed group of parents who are willing to put the time in, it can be possible to create another path forward.
‘It is also important to seek advice early and be prepared to learn very quickly. There are many aspects to setting up a school that most parents would never normally have to deal with.
‘Most importantly, it requires perseverance. There will inevitably be moments where things feel overwhelming, but if you believe the school is worth saving, it can give you the motivation to keep going.’
Rachael Harmon, Chair of the Clare House School Trust was talking to ITM editor, Andy Homden
FEATURE IMAGE: by steved_np3 on iStock
Support Images: Thank you to Clare House School, Lisa Baker on Unsplash & Marcus Woodbridge on Unsplash
