A SCHOOL closing in on its 100th year is launching a new pre-prep school next year.

Belhaven Hill School, founded in 1923, will begin the pre-prep school in April 2022.

The existing prep school has had a small class of six and seven-year-olds for several years.

The new plans will see the school open its doors fully to five-to-seven year olds, creating three distinct year groups with space for 30 new children.

Olly Langton, headmaster at the Dunbar school, said: “Parents have been asking for continuous, holistic educational options from age five right through to the start of senior school at 13, so we decided to develop a Belhaven Pre-Prep for five-to-seven-year-olds.

“We aim to give families choice throughout their association with the school – children start off as day pupils in our pre-prep and in the younger years of the prep school and can choose to be boarders if they want to, as they move up the school.”

A pre-prep open day is planned for September, with parents able to view the refurbished pre-prep classrooms.