Headfort School in Kells, Co Meath announced in March that it had made the difficult decision to go into liquidation and advised that the school would not be re-opening when the pandemic crisis is over.

Financial challenges faced by the school over the years were further compounded by Covid 19 and with the current school closures, a decision was made by the Board of Directors to enter voluntary liquidation.

Headfort School Kells was founded in 1949 by Lord and Lady Headfort and was situated between Dublin and Belfast. Headfort catered to both boarding and day pupils. The prep school offered a comprehensive programme of academic, sporting and cultural activities for children aged 7-13 making it Ireland’s only boarding school for that age group. Headfort also had a Montessori school for 3-5-year olds. Headfort had a unique offering, browsing through Headfort’s Facebook page, one can feel the history and the vibrancy of the school.

In a letter to Staff, the board has said: “It is with great sadness and regret that we write to inform you that Headfort School will close its doors and enter voluntary liquidation. This difficult decision follows a review of the implications of the Covid-19 Pandemic on revenues for the remainder of the 2019/2020 academic year as well as the outlook for 2020/2021.

The letter from chairman, Anthony Ardee, and board members, Alice Nugent, Anthony Rogers, and Aoife Chamberlayne, says: “Headfort is an institution that brought something completely different to the Irish educational environment. Unfortunately, the model was priceless yet costly and in recent times it has been a challenge to continue to provide the unique experience while seeking to maintain the costs at a consistent level for parents. The financial challenge presented by COVID-19 has made that challenge even more difficult. The continued uncertainty surrounding the timing of the school’s reopening has disastrous implications for both local and overseas students and the revenues that they provide.
Therefore, we have been forced to regrettably acknowledge that Headfort School is no longer financially viable to continue its operations. The Headfort Trust will continue to manage the international cultural asset that is Headfort House and will commence looking for a new tenant in the near future.”

Source: Headfort Facebook Page

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