Claires Court Schools are proprietorially owned and operated by Hugh and James Wilding. For those who like their historical facts, Claires Court first opened its doors as a preparatory school in September 1960 led by David and Josephine Wilding — parents of the current owners. In those days Claires Court was a boarding school and Ridgeway one of the boarding houses. As the demand for boarding reduced, the School gradually moved to a day school to 13 years of age, extending over the years to add GCSE and thus a leaving age of 16.
In 1993 College came under the Claires Court umbrella adding co-ed Nursery provision and in 1994 the co–ed Sixth Form started with 19 boys and 1 girl!
Here therefore was the birth of our unique education – the statutory school years of education with boys and girls separate but meeting for extra curricular activities, the performing arts, departmental trips and so on.
Our achievements are many and varied – never assume that academic excellence is sufficient for our pupils — we want them to experience and achieve so much more and because of this, we offer an absolute fountain of opportunity to ensure that our boys and girls emerge into the world of work or university as well balanced individuals able to move forward in confidence and with competence.
We are now in the year of our Golden Jubilee and delighted to be able to celebrate 50 years of achievement and growth from that first day of 19 pupils to the current school roll of just under 1,000 and three sites.