IT was the end of an era.

St George’s Catholic School in Leaside Way, Southampton has been an all-boys school for more than 30 years. But now the school, which has more than 530 pupils, is preparing to welcome its first intake of girls in September.

Head teacher Graham Wilson said the change to a mixed school came from demand from parents.

He said: “We are really looking forward to welcoming girls to the school.

We have to be responsive to the Catholic community who spoke loudly saying that they wanted a family school.”

The school has been recruiting teachers with mixed school experience while training its existing workforce for the change. Thirty-six girls will be part of its Year 7 intake of 130 new pupils in September.

The school originally opened as a mixed school and became an all-boys school in the 1970s.