SUTHERMERE Preparatory School, a Corporate Area institution that was facing closure last school year, has been taken over by the operators of Maths Unlimited, a popular independent high school.

Eddie Leighton, chairman of New Heights Learning, the parent company of Maths Unlimited, confirmed the acquisition of the 86-year-old school, which only reopened for the new school year after a court injunction barring its closure.

“We have completed the acquisition of Suthermere Prep,” Leighton told the Observer.

Leighton said the objective of New Heights was to get the school running properly, and then determine its future at a later date.

He said there was a possibility that the school would move to another location, but there was no definite time frame on the possible move.

Leighton said while New Heights had not operated a prep school before, the organisation had some experience in the field.

“We have offered summer programmes at the GSAT (Grade Six Achievement Test) level before. We have touched on it enough to understand what it’s all about, plus we have been in dialogue with Suthermere for a while,” he noted.

Alluding to the rich history of the school, Leighton said New Heights intended to restore Suthermere’s reputation.

“We are very passionate about learning, and we want to make Suthermere Prep a school of which all stakeholders will be proud,” he remarked.

“Suthermere has a rich tradition extending back to 1920, and looking at the brand there have been some outstanding alumni. We want to restore it to its former glory, or even top that,” Leighton added.

Along with Maths Unlimited, the New Heights group also includes Caribbean International College, which focuses on university and pre-university-level programmes, and Fast Track Career Institute, which offers vocational and technical training.

Describing Suthermere’s staff cadre as “excellent”, Leighton said his organisation would provide the staff with the support necessary for the school to flourish.

“We need to tighten a few things to ensure certain standards are maintained, but there is more than enough experience there to take it through the year,” he said.

The educator admitted that because of the dispute, there had been “some fallout” in the school’s population, which now stands at about 150 students.

The dispute over Suthermere Prep involves the beneficiaries of the estate of its founder and former principal, Nora Burke. The Supreme Court granted an injunction in July barring its closure.

The takeover by New Heights was assisted by a group consisting of alumni, staff and parents of students interested in the school’s survival.

Lawyer for the school’s administration, Althea McBean, said the staff would be working with the new management to ensure that the school is run efficiently, and is able to attract new students. “The turnout of students in September was better than expected. We’re trying to make the best of what could have been a potentially bad situation”, she told the Observer.

Once a premier institution in St Andrew, Suthermere Prep lists among its past students Rhodes Scholar and lawyer C Dennis Morrison, QC, insurance executive Dennis Lalor, former principal of the University of the West Indies Professor Gerald Lalor, sports doping expert Dr Herb Elliot and broadcaster Neville Whilloughby.