THE Scots School Bathurst and All Saints’ College could be operating as a single school as early as 2019 after the Presbyterian Church of NSW was confirmed as the All Saints’ buyer on Tuesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
All Saints’ College had been on the market for more than a year after the Supreme Court ordered it must be sold to help the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst repay a multi-million dollar debt to the Commonwealth Bank.
Trustees of the Presbyterian Church in NSW – the owners of The Scots School – confirmed late on Tuesday that their offer to buy All Saints’ had been accepted by the Bishop in Council and All Saints’ College Council.
“We wish to assure The Scots School community, and the school community at All Saints’ College, of our desire to combine the best of our two schools together into one school that glorifies God, and in which present and future generations of students will be proud,” the trustees said in a statement.
There will be no major changes to the running of the two schools in 2018 but All Saints’ head of college Steven O’Connor said a working party would be formed in Term 4 this year to start a change management program for 2019 and beyond.
The working party will consider factors including the name and structure of the combined school, and fee levels.
Scots dropped its tuition fees by an average of 30 per cent this year, leaving All Saints’ as the city’s highest fee-charging school.
“I haven’t had any conversations about fees but I anticipate the two schools next year would have the same fee structure,” Mr O’Connor said.
“I understand Scots are very pleased with their new fee structure and they are the new owners so they will ultimately determine that.”
The Presbyterian Church has indicated a strong preference for the combined school to run two campuses on Scots’ and All Saints’ current grounds but said that could not be guaranteed.
“We believe the merger of two respected schools in Bathurst will provide students with a wider choice of subjects and co-curricular opportunities at every level of their education and will provide students of both schools with enhanced opportunities to develop their interests and character,” the trustees said.
“We expect that the purchase process will be conducted professionally and speedily over the next few weeks.”
All Saints’ was established in 1873 and The Scots School Bathurst in 1946.
