Tucked away in the affluent, leafy Farnham Lane, just north of Haslemere town centre in Surrey, lies a vacant £8 million property.
With 15 buildings, including a sports centre equipped with two netball courts, situated on 24.36 acres of rolling land, one might assume prospective owners are flocking for a tour.
But there’s a stumbling block as hefty as the property… It’s the former Royal School, which shut its doors in February last year, becoming one of the ‘ghost schools’ popping up around the UK.
Amid Labour’s VAT raid, which has caused the number of private school pupils to fall by 30,000 – with 20,000 fewer in the last year alone – the independent education sector is grappling with financial disturbances.
With countless families being priced out, multiple schools have no choice but to close, leaving behind vast, sometimes historic buildings that estate agents are tasked with shifting.
Despite being listed as a building that can be transformed for multiple purposes, the schools come with a planning designation that means the property must be used as a residential institution, such as retirement homes or hospitals – and new owners would face serious hurdles in changing that.
Transforming a property of such size is also no easy feat – and would come with a big price tag, not to mention that most school buildings are historic and therefore face legal challenges in being modified.
Elsewhere, southeast of The Royal School is yet another ghost school: the £5million former Padworth College, located in a Georgian-listed mansion in Reading with views across the West Berkshire landscape.
The £5million former Padworth College, located in Reading, is one of the multiple ‘ghost schools’ up for sale
The secondary day and boarding school, which comes with a heated swimming pool and tennis courts, closed last year and, according to Knight Frank, has ‘Potential for continued use as a school (boarding), or alternative uses such as day school, residential, private family home, senior living, or hotel/hospitality, subject to all the necessary consents.’
A spokesman for Knight Frank told The Telegraph: ‘Finding the right custodian for the next chapter of ownership takes time, particularly as buyer timelines are closely tied to engagement with the planning system, which can be complex.
‘The planning policies that exist to protect these buildings can also make alternative use more challenging, particularly where large schools close and a new viable purpose is needed. Timelines across the planning system have generally become lengthier in recent years, though we are now seeing signs of improvement.
‘We are encouraging planning authorities to take a more pragmatic approach that’s more tailored to the specific asset to ensure the optimum viable use is found in the shortest timeframe.’
It comes after a newly built net-zero school closed before it ever got the chance to open due to a lack of pupils.
Waterside Primary School in the expanding Trent Basin estate in Nottingham was set to open in September 2024 and promised to serve 210 pupils with 30 nursery places on offer.
But the project, overseen by the Department for Education, was embarrassingly shut down in January last year before a single child had stepped foot inside after only a few parents applied for places.
Now, some families who moved to the new 350-home development where houses cost up to £500,000 to be near the school have decided to sell up.
Also up for sale for £8million is the The Royal School, located in Farnham Lane, Haslemere, Surrey
Previously The Royal School, the accommodation ‘comprises 15 buildings of varying ages and architectural styles,’ according to Knight Frank
Disgruntled locals say most people who moved into the estate were older couples and young professionals without kids and have branded the building a ‘ghost school’.
One local, who did not want to be named, said: ‘My wife and I are retired, and our children have grown up and flown the nest.
‘I can only think of a handful of families with school-age children living here so I am not surprised the school shut before it even opened.
‘It seems an awful waste of money and something which really should have been foreseen.
‘It’s a shame because the school buildings look immaculate and very modern but sadly it’s been built in completely the wrong place.’
The school project was overseen by the Department for Education (DfE), and the Greenwood Academies Trust had intended to run it.
In December 2024, the DfE pulled funding from the school due to low pupil demand, and the academy trust has also exited the agreement.
