A PRESTIGIOUS boarding school will take day pupils for the first time in its 300-year history.The Royal Hospital School (RHS), in Holbrook, will admit day students across all ages from September 2006 after being a full boarding school since 1712.

A PRESTIGIOUS boarding school will take day pupils for the first time in its 300-year history.

The Royal Hospital School (RHS), in Holbrook, will admit day students across all ages from September 2006 after being a full boarding school since 1712.

It is a significant development in the tradition of the school, which was founded to offer support to seafaring families – the children and grandchildren of those in the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Merchant Navy.

The headmaster, Howard Blackett, made the announcement during his 2005 Speech Day Report, which was presented on Saturday .

Mr Blackett, who has completed his first academic year at the school, said: "I am very pleased to be able to take this decision.

"RHS is a tremendous school and it is important to me that we are seen not only as a national boarding school, but also as a school which meets the needs of the local community.

"We will remain essentially a full-boarding school but with day school opportunities for pupils fitting into the traditional boarding school programme.

"I have no doubt at all that these day pupils will strengthen this fine school.

"The decision to offer day school education is in response to considerable demand locally, from potential parents who intimated they would have liked to have sent their children to RHS as day pupils.

"It will also enable RHS to link into the local community far more effectively than has been the case in the past."

It is anticipated that from September 2006, day school pupils could arrive at RHS from 7.30am in the morning and could opt to stay at school as late as 9pm.

Over the next twelve months RHS will be preparing for the arrival of day pupils and hosting a number of Day School Open Days.