A SOUTHAMPTON private school has bought out a private Hampshire prep school.

Bosses at King Edward VI School say the purchase of Stroud School in Romsey is “an opportunity to enhance the education of children between the ages of three and 18 years”.

Stroud, which was founded in 1926, has around 320 children on roll for the start of next year, and currently sends an average of 24 pupils to the 450-year-old King Edward’s, which offers education from 11-year-old to 18.