Tom Dougherty is a digital content producer for CBS Philadelphia. Before joining CBS Philadelphia, Tom covered sports for NBC Sports Philadelphia. He currently covers breaking news and sports.

Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania, will close in May 2026 after a review found the prep boarding school to be "no longer viable" due to rising costs and declining enrollment, the school announced Monday.

The board of trustees cited rising tuition prices, falling enrollment and a change in Pennsylvania law that increased liability exposure and drove up insurance premiums behind the decision to close down VFMA, which was founded in 1928, after the 2025-26 academic year, in a statement posted online.

"Together, these factors made the Academy's future unsustainable," the statement said.

VFMA trustees said the Valley Forge Military College, which shares the 70-acre Main Line campus with the academy, will remain open. The academy and college have a different set of boards of trustees and leadership, the statement said.

"For nearly 100 years, we have maintained a strong tradition of developing resilient young men of character," Gray Beck, VFMA's board chairman, said in a statement. "Despite today's announcement, the legacy of Valley Forge Military Academy will live on in the thousands of graduates, faculty and staff members and supporters."

The board of trustees said it will help with cadets transferring to other schools and provide support for faculty and staff.

"We are indebted to the faculty, staff, cadets, and alumni who make Valley Forge Military Academy an incredibly special place," Beck said in a statement. "The best thing we can do now is to continue and provide as normal an experience as possible this year for the young men we've been entrusted to help develop into the leaders of tomorrow."

The Valley Forge Military Academy was founded nearly a century ago for boys in grades 7-12. Its final graduating class will be its 98th. The final commencement is scheduled for Saturday, May 30, 2026.

Valley Forge Military Academy to close in May 2026, citing rising costs and declining enrollment