A MYSTERY financial backer is set to secure the long-term future of an Oxford school.

Wychwood School in Banbury Road has found an investor to bring financial security and investment to the school.

The identity of the new partner remains secret for now, but it is said he will bring ‘invaluable international connections to assist in growing the school’s boarding numbers as well as the all-important investment to secure the long-term future of the school’.

The money will help the school expand and improve its facilities, as well as developing its extra-curricular offering.

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Commenting on the announcement, headmistress Andrea Johnson said: “This is very exciting news for Wychwood.

“We have found a potential partner who has both the resources and the networks in place to secure our school for the long-term.

“Ideally situated in the heart of the city, Wychwood was for too long one of Oxford’s best kept secrets.

“Our central Oxford location means that we take full advantage of all that this university city can offer and we are now finding a bigger voice to shout about our girls’ many achievements and our diversity.

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“We are proud of the value we have been able to add to the ambitions, lives and careers of many generations of young women and thankful that this potential new partnership will secure our ability to continue to do that into the future.

“We are aware that many parents are considering private education for the first time for their children, and we would be delighted to discuss the possibilities of a Wychwood education with them.”

The all-girls school says it remains committed to the benefits of single-sex education for girls.

The school’s potential new partner is a like-minded British entrepreneur with the same passionate belief that girls flourish best in single-sex teaching environments.

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There is now a shared vision to grow the school and what it can offer to girls from both the UK and overseas.

However, the school says its core catchment remains girls in Oxfordshire, the immediately surrounding counties and West London.

Wychwood was established in 1897 with one pupil, Margaret Gray.