CLOSURE: All-girls school will end historic run in Mississauga

A private Catholic school for girls that has operated in Mississauga for decades will close at the end of this academic year.

Holy Name of Mary College School (HNMCS) notified students, parents, and teachers yesterday that the Mississauga Road campus will close in June of next year.

Declining enrolment and increasing costs were cited as the rationale behind the imminent closure.

A school associated with the Catholic Felician Sisters, it has operated at the site since 1964.

Enrolment at the school, which accommodates Grades 5 through 12, currently stands at 140 students.

Tuition is $28,500 per year.

“After extensive analysis of every possible option, plan and strategic approach, the Provincial Council of the Felician Sisters of North America concluded that none were financially or operationally sustainable,” writes HNMCS Board Chair Dr. Michael Kendrick in the notice sent to the school community.

Kendick, who is based with the Felician Sisters in the U.S., noted that enrolment has dropped 39 per cent in the past seven years despite efforts to attract and retain students.

“The school’s enrolment has dropped below the level necessary to sustain operations and deliver the exceptional education our students deserve,” continues Kendrick. “Combined with the need for significant capital investment, these realities left us with no viable path forward.”

A spokesperson for the Mississauga campus has been unavailable for comment.

In its early days, the school was largely staffed by nuns and became part of the public Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board in 1972. It has operated as a private school since 2008.

Reaction to the news was met with surprise by those in the school community.

“There is a lot of anxiety, anger and mixed emotions going on right now,” according to a member of the school community who spoke to INsauga.com.

“We have heard rumours for some time, but we’re still shocked at the news. We’re all upset by this.”

At one time, Holy Name of Mary was one of the most prestigious schools to attend in the western GTA because of its reputation for high academic standards. Demand by parents to get their daughters into the school was so high that enrolment had to be capped as the Dufferin-Peel School board dealt with various ways to grant admission that included having parents line up in advance to register, and later a lottery system was devised.

Parents and others affected by the closure are planning to meet to find if there is a way to save the school.