Follow this link to jump directly to the latest updates or visit the Frequently Asked Questions page.
Boys and girls will learn together, providing equal opportunities for all while recognising their different needs. Our teaching will continue to be outstanding and our students will gain not only the grades they need to move on from Monmouth successfully but also skills to be life-long learners who contribute positively to society and become leaders in driving change. The school will offer something different from neighbouring schools, providing excellent teaching and wide-ranging opportunities in a caring and supportive environment.
The move towards full co-educational has already begun.
From September 2024:
- Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 will become fully co-educational, and will be based on the current Monmouth School for Boys site at Almshouse Street.
- Years 12 and 13, boys and girls, will be based on the west side of the Monmouth Girls’ School site on the Hereford Road.
- Year 11 students, who will be midway through their GCSEs, will remain in single sex classes on the Monmouth School for Boys site, at Almshouse Street, to minimise any disruption.
- The Prep School will move to the east side of the Girls’ School site.
From September 2025, Monmouth School will be fully co-educational in every year group.
We are now engaged in all aspects of this change and work is underway, including creating a wider variety of study areas and a superb Sixth Form Centre with six times more space than is currently available.
Artists’s impression of the new Sixth Form Centre from Hereford Road.
We plan to make space for other new facilities, including a dance studio, by optimising our use of the existing buildings, and to extend current facilities such as the dining hall, which will become our first carbon neutral building. Some boarding houses will be refurbished, with more recreational spaces and improved access to outdoor areas, and some rearrangements made to housing for boarders – though the boarding structure will remain the same. And as with all of the changes being made to the estate over the coming months, we aim to carry out all major projects with minimal disruption, with much of the work undertaken during school holidays when most pupils are absent. These redevelopments present a valuable opportunity for us to place sustainability at the heart of the way in which the school operates.
This development is greatly helped by the William Jones Endowment and the support of the Haberdashers’ Company. The move to full co-education improves the school’s financial position and provided the necessary confidence for the Trustees of the William Jones Endowment to release funds to further improve the facilities and opportunities for all our pupils.
Simon Dorman, current Head of Monmouth School for Boys, will take over as Head of the new co-educational school from September 2024, and Rachel Rees as Deputy Pastoral. Meanwhile, Simon leads an Executive Team, which includes Heads of the Girls’ School and Prep School, the Senior Deputy Head (Academic) and Bursar, to oversee the transition. They are being supported by 13 Working Groups who are making recommendations.
These are exciting times, and we are determined to seize the opportunities they present. Students have been familiarising themselves with the developing site with a programme of social events, shared lectures, academic activities and structured events to enable new classmates to get to know each other. Activities now include boys and girls wherever practically possible to develop friendships before being based together full-time.
If you have questions, you can write to us at govboard@habsmonmouth.org and we will provide as much information as we can. Details of the transition are still evolving, but please do get in touch if there is anything you would like to find out more about or if you have any queries about the immediate impact this announcement might have that are not addressed on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Latest updates – September 2023
Work on Salter House, to create a new and stunning Sixth Form Centre. Our Sixth Formers have settled well in their temporary home in Inglefield and the students are delighted with their new, spacious environment. The new refurbished rooms are light and welcoming and offer space for both social and working areas for the students. In the words of one of our Year 13s, “Inglefield has adapted well to the changes with sixth form. The addition of the cafe and the extension of the classrooms has made the space perfect for the year 12s and 13s.”
In addition to the work undertaken to house the Sixth Fomers this year, work on landscaping around Inglefield, in preparation for the arrival of the Pre-Prep is on schedule, with new play areas, a buggy ramp from the car park and pretty garden space.
Work on School House (new classrooms and day rooms) is also well underway and, in preparation of the conversion of the squash courts into the dance centre, the strength and conditioning equipment has been moved to a spacious area in the basement of School House, so that it can continue to be used by the students.
Finally, we are also well on track with the work to extend the current dining hall in the lower campus. Meanwhile, students are finding the temporary dining area very easy to use and are delighted with the continuation in the range and variety of food on offer.
Whilst it is difficult to visualise what the new campus areas will look like, due to all the current building work, we are really delighted to be able to bring you a ‘fly through’ video which clearly shows how the new buildings will look. We thank our architects, Levitt Bernstein, who have produced the video for us. Click on the link here, or visit the ‘Becoming co-ed’ pages of our website.
- Working Groups
Our thirteen working groups, looking into every aspect of the transition to co-ed in the senior school next year continue to meet regularly and are making great progress. This is looking at teaching and learning, pastoral care, communication, orientation of pupils, uniform, boarding and co-curricular provision.
- Parent Forums
Unfortunately, we have had to postpone the Parent Forums on the 18th and 19th September, due to clashing events, but we have now rescheduled these for 8th and 9th November. As before, we will have one event live and one on-line. For the live event, we do have to limit numbers to ensure we can all fit in the room and ensure we get the most out of it, so attendance will be on a first come, first serve basis. We will send further details and an invitation to join us, in due course.
This recent lovely weather has been very beneficial for everyone and, especially, made for some really great induction and bonding activities for our new and returning students.
We look forward to seeing many of you at the packed schedule of fixtures and events coming up in the coming months.
