Opened in 1886, Dean Close was named by its founders after the Very Reverend Francis Close, Dean of Carlisle, a former Rector of Cheltenham. The School remains on its original site, situated on the outskirts of Cheltenham on a beautiful 50 acre plot. It is one of the oldest established co-educational independent senior schools, welcoming its first girl, Pamela Rowles, in 1967. The School has had nine headmasters since its foundation.